Live Your Life
by geekinthepink614
Summary: Monsters and humans are attempting to coexist on the surface. When a certain group of monsters and a new group of humans meet, bonds begin to form and friendships quickly blossom. The stage is set for something beautiful. SansxOC and MettatonxMaleOC (Rated M just to be safe.)
1. Prologue: It Started With A Blender

**Author's Notes: So, I have absolutely fallen in love with Undertale (who hasn't?!) and, like everything else I fall in love with, I decided to write something for it. This prologue is going to be a little shorter than the chapters I normally write, but I wanted to set a little foundation. This story is going to be set after the True Pacifist ending and Frisk is going to be referred to as female.**

 **I wanted to preface this by saying that there isn't going to be much of a plot for this story; it's mostly just about monsters and humans attempting to coexist (and a little interspecies romance).**

 **Obviously, I don't own Undertale or its characters. I just own the crap-ton of human OCs I'm including, most of them based off of my own sisters and friends.**

* * *

Papyrus stared intently at the two blenders in front of him, his eyes shifting back and forth between the two. Now that the barrier had been broken and monsters had rejoined humans on the surface a couple of months ago, he and the others had been trying to learn all they could about humans and their culture. This had proved to be more difficult than he'd anticipated; humans and monsters were still a little wary of one another and actually approaching one was something nobody had had the courage to do as of yet. Frisk helped as much as she could but she was still so young and there was much about human culture even she didn't know yet.

All that aside, Papyrus had been more than thrilled to discover all the new and interesting things the surface had to offer, especially the cookware. His spaghetti had been the absolute best in the Underground and he couldn't wait to see how he could improve it with the new technology life on the surface granted him access to. This brought him back to his current predicament and focused on the two blenders yet again. He'd been staring at them for the better part of an hour, hoping there would some sort of indication as to which was the superior blender, but nothing had caught his attention yet.

"Nyaaaaaah! Why must this be so difficult?!" Papyrus exclaimed. "I, the great Papyrus, demand only the best for my kitchen!"

"If that's the case, I wouldn't go with the blender on the left," a new voice laughed, startling the skeleton.

Papyrus turned around to see a human female standing behind him, holding a blender just like one of the ones he'd been looking at. He was pleasantly surprised to see that she didn't seem afraid of him at all; her brown eyes were filled with nothing but warmth and amusement.

"My husband and I got one of those as a wedding gift and it came apart the first time we used it," the girl continued. "We brought it back here to exchange it, but the same thing happened with the second one."

"Ah, I see," Papyrus replied. "Well, you certainly seem more knowledgeable about this surface cookery, Miss..."

"Rose," the girl replied, pushing some of her brown hair behind her ear. "It's nice to meet you, great Papyrus."

"It's nice to meet you as well, Rose," Papyrus affirmed with a nod. "What would you recommend?"

"Well, I was going to see if we had any better luck with the Ninja," Rose answered, nodding toward the blender on the right. "Some friends of ours have one and it's pretty amazing."

"Very well," Papyrus agreed. "I shall try my luck with this 'Ninja'. I appreciate your help."

"It's nothing, Papyrus," Rose replied. "I just didn't want to see you waste your money on a piece of junk."

"I have to say, you're probably the nicest human I've met since we got to the surface," Papyrus commented. "Most humans seem nervous about approaching us, but you started talking to me like we've known each other forever."

"Sorry if it caught you offguard," Rose apologized, rubbing the back of her head sheepishly. "It's just how I am." She looked up at him. "How has surface life been treating you, since you mentioned it?"

Papyrus shrugged. "Like I said, most humans seem a little nervous about coming near us but none of them seem to be doing it out of hatred, so I suppose that's a good thing. At the same time, a great number of monsters, my own brother and some of my friends included, are wary of humans too." He sighed. "I'm happy to be up here, don't get me wrong, but we might as well still be living separately at this point."

"In all fairness, it _has_ only been a couple months," Rose reasoned. "It'll take some time before monsters and humans feel completely at ease around one another. I can understand your frustration, though." She thought for a moment. "I think I might have an idea about how to help your friends feel more comfortable around humans, though."

"Hmm?" Papyrus asked. "I'm listening."

"Part of the reason I came to pick up a Ninja today is because my husband and I are going to be having a party at our apartment this weekend," Rose explained as she grabbed one of the Ninja boxes. "It won't be very big; we're just inviting a few of our good friends. If you're feeling up to it, you and your brother and friends are more than welcome to come too."

Papyrus's face lit up in a bright smile. "Really?! Wowie, that's very generous of you!" His smile faltered for a moment. "But are you sure? I mean, will your friends be put out that we're...you know...monsters?"

Rose shook her head. "I doubt it. They're a pretty chill bunch of people. As long as you're nice to them, they'll be nice to you. Besides, parties are always more fun the more people you add to the mix!"

Papyrus nodded. "I appreciate your offer, Rose! I'll have to ask everyone what they think, but I can tell you for sure that I'll be there! I'll even make some spaghetti to commemorate the occasion!"

Rose laughed. "I'm looking forward to it! Here, I'll give you my number. Once you get a chance to talk to your friends, let me know how many people are planning on coming. I need to know how much food to make."

Papyrus nodded before picking up a Ninja as well. "But of course! I, the great Papyrus, shall get back to you as soon as I can! But first I must finish shopping!"

Rose nodded. "I'll let you get back to it, then. It was really nice meeting you today, Papyrus!"

"And you as well, my new human friend!" Papyrus shouted as he dashed off toward the pasta.

* * *

 **Ending Notes: I hope you guys enjoyed this quick little intro! Most of our favorite monsters (and most of the OCs, including our leading lady) will be making an appearance in the next chapter, so hopefully you guys will stick with me for that!**

 **Thank you all so much for reading! Feedback and constructive criticism are more than welcome! Geekinthepink, out!**


	2. The Party

**Author's Notes: Thank you guys for being so patient! I didn't mean to take so long updating this but I kept getting stuck at certain parts.**

 **Fair warning: In this story, some of the characters (namely our two main OCs, Leah and Johnny) are going to curse fairly frequently. It's just how they are. I wanted to give you all a heads up in case that's not something you're comfortable with.**

* * *

"P-Papyrus, are y-y-you sure this is a g-good idea?" Alphys asked, glancing around nervously and shrinking a little closer to Undyne.

"Of course!" Papyrus exclaimed, a large pot of spaghetti in his arms. "Rose was gracious enough to invite all of us to her party, after all. Besides, she assured me that her friends didn't have any problem with monsters."

' _that's easy enough to say,_ ' Sans thought. ' _but just because you were able to make friends with one human doesn't mean they're all going to be as openminded, bro._ '

In truth, when Papyrus had told them all about this party his new human friend was throwing, Sans had been against going. It wasn't so much that he disliked the fact that his brother had befriended another human; he just didn't want to take the risk of the human's friends being wary and closed off towards them. He knew how frustrated his brother was at the fact that monsters and humans weren't integrating quicker and he didn't want to see Papyrus's hopes dashed again. From the look on Undyne's face when Papyrus had mentioned the party, Sans knew she'd been thinking along the same lines. However, the taller skeleton had been so excited about the whole thing that neither of them could bring themselves to try to talk him out of going.

The sound of Papyrus knocking on the door pulled the smaller skeleton from his thoughts. The door was pulled open a moment later to reveal a young woman with short purple hair swept to the left. A sharp gasp sounded from Papyrus as he immediately began the woman's hair.

"What happened, Rose?!" Papyrus exclaimed. "Your hair didn't look like this before! Are you feeling alright? Is changing hair color a sign of some sort of human illness?!"

' _ah, so this is the one he met at the store the other day,_ ' Sans thought as Rose let out a quick laugh.

"I'm fine, Papyrus, really," she insisted. "I just thought it was time for a change, that's all."

Undyne shrugged. "I think it looks pretty cool. But how did you get it to change colors? Papyrus told us you had brown hair before."

"A friend of mine dyed it for me," Rose replied.

"'D-Dyed'?" Alphys asked worriedly.

"He put chemicals in my hair to make the color change," Rose elaborated. "It's not permanent, though; this stuff'll wash out eventually. But I have a couple of friends that dye their hair almost constantly, so I decided to give it a try. One of them should be coming tonight, so you'll probably get to see something really intense; Leah isn't one to take half measures with her hair."

"Everything okay, Rose?" asked another young woman. This one had teal blue hair a little past her shoulders and wide bluish green eyes. She turned her gaze toward the group of monsters and smiled. "Oh, you guys must be the new friends Rose told us about!" She turned her attention to Papyrus. "And judging by the pot of spaghetti you're holding, I'm guessing you're Papyrus."

"That I am, human!" Papyrus replied. "And you are?"

"Haley," the girl answered. "It's nice to finally meet you guys." She turned back to Rose. "We should get everyone inside before the guys wonder what's going on."

"S-So is your hair d-d-dyed as well, Haley?" Alphys asked as Rose waved all of them in.

Haley nodded. "Mmhmm, by the same friend that did Rose's." Once everyone had stepped into the living room, she proceeded to call out to two male humans, a shorter one with short black hair and another larger one with curly dark blonde hair, sitting on a couch, playing some sort of video game. "Matt! Caleb! Look alive, you two! There's people to meet!"

The pair sent each other a quick glance before standing and making their way over to everyone.

"Sorry, we didn't even hear you two leave the room," the larger one spoke before nodding to everyone. "I'm Caleb. I'm Haley's husband." He gestured to the male beside him just as said male opened his mouth to speak. "And this guy here is Rose's husband, Matt."

"And with that, Caleb just stole my introduction," Matt snarked. "Rose has been really excited about you guys coming since she met Papyrus. It's nice to finally meet all of you."

"So is this everyone for tonight?" Haley asked.

"That depends," Rose replied. "Do we have any word on Leah yet? I told her when to be here, but I wouldn't be surprised if she's taking a nap or something."

"Again?!" Matt asked. "She was awake twenty minutes ago!"

"You know her, though," Haley piped up. "That girl could sleep for a week if you give her the chance."

"Heh, sounds like she and Sans would get along pretty well," Undyne commented, nodding toward the shorter skeleton.

"Do you think we should call her?" Caleb asked. "If she doesn't answer, one of us can just run over to her place and wake her lazy butt up."

"That won't be necessary," a new voice spoke up from the doorway. "I've been standing here for the past couple minutes."

All eyes turned toward the new voice. Going by appearances alone, this human provided a very stark contrast to the others. Her hair was dyed as well, but unlike Rose and Haley, her appeared to be predominantly iridescent green with a little light blue mixed in here and there. Adding to that were a multitude of metal rings in her ears as well as one through her lip and one in her left nostril. Sans also thought he caught a glimpse of something on her neck, but her hair covered it before he could be sure.

"When exactly were you planning on announcing yourself?" Rose asked.

The girl shrugged. "I hadn't planned on it. I was gonna try to ninja my way in and see how long it took for one of you to notice I was here." She sent a half-smile toward the group of monsters. "I'm Leah, by the way. And now that I'm here, we can officially get this party started!"

' _hmmm... there's something...off...about this one,_ ' Sans thought. ' _something about that air of self-confidence seems forced to me. she seems nice enough, but i can tell she's hiding something. guess i'll just have to keep an eye on her for now._ '

* * *

The party had been going pretty well for the most part. Papyrus and Rose had been talking nonstop, Haley and Alphys had been discussing the various types of anime that existed on the surface, and Sans had been sitting with Matt and Caleb as they played video games. Sans had been discreetly observing Leah as Undyne questioned her about her piercings; he'd been more than a little amused to see that the girl genuinely enjoyed his brother's spaghetti and was currently stuffing her face with it.

"Why do you have so many holes stabbed into your face, anyway?" Undyne asked. "Are they some sort of power indicators? If you're the strongest human here, I'll fight you right now!"

Leah just smiled and shook her head. "Nah, I'm kind of a wimp. The strongest human in here is probably Matt, if I'm being honest. Piercings like mine are a fashion statement more than anything else, and trust me, there are people out there with more of 'em than I have." She flicked one of the small hoops in her ear. "As for why I have so many of them...middle child syndrome, I guess?"

"What does that mean?" Undyne asked.

"It means I'm the second of three sisters," Leah elaborated. "Since I was never an only child and since my younger sister was born barely two years after me, it left me a little starved for attention. That's the reason I essentially turned my entire body into an art project."

' _so she doesn't even try to deny that she craves attention,_ ' Sans thought as he observed quietly from his spot on the couch. ' _seems amazingly self-aware for a human. her sense of humor seems pretty self-deprecating, too. she's an odd one, that's for sure. odd and very intriguing._ '

"Either way, those piercings of yours are pretty badass," Undyne commented. "Do they hurt when you get them?"

"Not really," Leah replied as she shoveled another forkful of spaghetti into her mouth. "It's over pretty quick so I don't really notice it. If you want to get some done, I can introduce you to the girl that does mine."

Sans watched as the pair chatted for a few more moments before Leah excused herself and walked out to the balcony of the condo. After waiting for about a minute, he stood and followed her outside. "hey. mind if i join you out here?"

Leah jumped before whipping around to look at him. "Oh. Yeah, sure." She sent him a small smile. "Sorry, I came out her to get some air and I guess I spaced out a little." She studied him for a moment. "It's...Sans, right?"

"yeah. and don't sweat it, kid," Sans replied. "nothing wrong with running away with your thoughts, right?"

Leah shrugged. "Maybe. But I try not to stay alone with mine for too long."

"any particular reason?" Sans asked.

"Just that I'm not a photographer," Leah said. "And my thoughts are a dark place where negatives are developed. That's pretty much the reason I came tonight; I didn't want to give myself too much time to overthink."

"i was actually wondering about that myself," Sans commented. "i was curious about why a girl like you is running with a crowd like this. no offense, but you don't really seem to have much in common with them."

Leah chuckled. "Caleb and I have known each other since high school. The two of us and a bunch of other friends used to run pretty wild back then. Dude's mellowed out a lot since he met Haley. I like to think I have, too, but I've still got a little wild child left in me." She sighed, the smile still on her face. "You're right, though; I don't really have much in common with any of them aside from a love of anime, video games, and comics. They're all very genuinely kind people, though, and I absolutely adore all of them. Still, I can't help but feel a little bit like an outsider, ya know?"

"i get that," Sans affirmed. "i feel the same way myself sometimes. But there has to be someone that gets you, right?"

"Yeah," Leah agreed. "And his name's Johnny."

"johnny?" Sans asked. "is that your boyfriend or somethin'?"

Leah laughed. "Hell no. Johnny's my bestie-slash-roomie-slash-quite possibly nonromantic soulmate. One of the oldest and closest friends I have and easily the baddest motherfucker I know."

"sounds like you guys are pretty tight," Sans commented with a smile.

"Of course!" Leah chirped. She flipped her hair to one side to reveal a fleur de lis etched into her neck. "I wouldn't get a matching tattoo with just anyone."

"jeez, kid, you weren't kidding when you said you'd turned your body into an art project," Sans commented. "i've heard of humans with tattoos but i'd never actually seen one. and this johnny guy has one just like it?"

Leah nodded. "Yep! But his is on the opposite side of his neck."

Sans quirked a brow bone. "and you're positive you two aren't a thing?"

Leah rolled her eyes playfully. "Trust me, we're not. He and I are looking for the same thing, if you catch my drift, so he'd have no interest in dating me. Besides, it's not like this is the only tattoo I have."

"really?" Sans asked as he looked the girl over. "how many do you have?"

"Sorry, but one's all you get to see for tonight," Leah replied, sending him a wink. "Maybe once we get to know each other a little more, I'll show you the other ones."

Sans chuckled. "fair enough."

The pair stayed out on the balcony for a while longer before a noise from inside pulled their attention toward the door.

"think we should head back in?" Sans asked. "i think people are gonna start wondering what we're doing out here."

"Probably," Leah agreed. "Don't want Rose drilling me about being antisocial." She paused for a moment before turning toward the doorway. "Thank you, by the way."

"for what?" Sans asked.

"For listening to me ramble," Leah elaborated. "I didn't mean to dump all of that onto you, but you're just really easy to talk to."

Sans shrugged. "don't worry about it. like i said, i feel the same way myself sometimes. it's nice to know that someone else feels like that sometimes, too."

"Just the same, I appreciate you not judging me for it," Leah said.

"well, just _tibia_ honest with ya, there's hard _leah_ chance of that," Sans replied, sending a wink her way.

"Did...Did you just use my name to make a pun?" Leah asked, an amused smile forming on her lips.

"yeah," Sans replied. "i see the way you're smiling, though, so don't tell me you didn't find it _humerous._ "

"How long have you been waiting for a chance to use that?" Leah laughed out.

Sans just shrugged once again. "what can i say? i've got a _skele_ -ton of 'em."

"Oh my God, Sans!" Papyrus yelled from inside. "Stop sullying the party with your puns!"

"What happens if he doesn't?" Leah asked, her eyes sparkling playfully. "Are you gonna _pun_ ish him?"

"Don't encourage him, human!" Papyrus exclaimed.

"heh. maybe he'll send me to the _pun_ geon," Sans mused.

"Oh my God! Now there's two of them!" Papyrus yelled.

* * *

 **Ending Notes: I hope this chapter didn't come off as too awkward. My main focus was to introduce most of the OCs and have Leah start bonding with Sans, but it takes me a couple chapters to get used to writing new characters. Besides, Leah isn't really the type of girl who opens up immediately. It's an absolute maelstrom in that girl's head and it's going to be elaborated on later in the story. I'm introducing Johnny in the next chapter, so the readers are gonna get a glimpse of what Leah's like when she's with somebody that 'gets' her. I hope you guys are looking forward to it as much as I am!**

 **As always, feedback and constructive criticism are more than welcome! Thank you all so much for reading! Geekinthepink, out!**


	3. Surprise Encounter

**Author's Notes: A wild Johnny appears! I was super excited to introduce him to the story; he's gonna be a really big source of support for Leah.**

* * *

"You sure this is the place, Alphys?" Undyne asked as the pair stood in front of a comic shop in the downtown area of the city. "It looks like a regular old comic book shop."

"Y-Y-Yeah," Alphys replied. "Th-They specialize primarily in comic books, but Haley told me that th-this was also the best place to buy a-anime in this city. She said they get new stuff r-regularly, so we should a-always try here first."

Undyne couldn't help but smile. Ever since the party a little over a week ago, Haley and Alphys had been keeping in regular contact with one another. The two shared similar taste in anime, so it wasn't a surprise that they'd managed to hit it off fairly quickly. It made Undyne happy to see her girlfriend make another friend so easily. Papyrus had been spending more time with Rose as well after she'd offered to teach him how to cook some of the more popular surface dishes. Undyne herself had exchanged numbers with Matt and Leah. She'd learned through Leah that Matt was fairly well-versed in martial arts and he'd agreed to teach her what he knew, so the two of them spent a decent amount of time together as well. Leah, on the other hand, was fairly quick to respond to texts and phone calls but she seemed a little more hesitant to hang out with everyone. Both Matt and Rose had assured Undyne that it wasn't anything to worry about, that Leah sometimes went through phases where she locked herself in the condo she and Johnny shared, but they didn't elaborate any further.

' _I'm a little surprised that we managed to stumble across a group of humans as awesome as Frisk this quickly,_ ' Undyne thought as she and Alphys entered the shop. ' _I'd expected it to take a while for the humans to warm up to us, but these guys weren't fearful at all. I guess some of them really_ _ **are**_ _alright after all._ '

As soon as the two stepped into the shop, their eyes were immediately drawn to a familiar head of green and blue hair behind the counter.

"Leah?!" Undyne called out as she and Alphys approached the counter.

"Hey, guys!" Leah greeted, her face lighting up in a smile. "What's going on? I didn't expect to see you here."

"Well, Haley told Alphys that this was the best place in the city to get some anime, so we figured we'd give it a shot," Undyne replied. "She didn't tell us you worked here, though."

Leah shrugged. "Well, a girl's gotta make a living somehow, right? Besides, it's a pretty sweet job. I'm surrounded by anime, comics, and my fellow nerds. It doesn't hurt that Johnny works here, too."

"So you guys live together and work together?" Undyne asked. "Don't you get sick of each other?"

"Not really," Leah replied, shaking her head. "Johnny and I have been friends for years and we've got personalities that mesh well together. In all honesty, I probably wouldn't be here now if it weren't for him. Besides, we haven't been living together for very long; if I remember right, it's been about four months now."

"R-Really?" Alphys asked. "What m-made you decide t-to move in together?"

"Well, I wouldn't say it was much of a decision on my end," Leah explained. "Before I lived with Johnny, I was living with my then-boyfriend of five years. I'll save you the sob story, but the short version is that he ended leaving me for some other girl he worked with and since he was the one paying for the house we were living in, I couldn't stay there anymore. After I told him what happened, Johnny insisted that I stay with him and I agreed since I didn't have anywhere else to go. I was originally just going to stay for a week or so until I found a new place of my own, but Johnny talked me into becoming his roommate. He already lived in a two-bedroom condo so it wasn't that hard to turn the unused bedroom into my room." Leah glanced up at her friends only to see Undyne staring at her intently. "Umm...everything okay, Undyne?"

"Leah...," Undyne began, leaning her face a little closer to the human's. "Are your eyes two different colors?"

"Uhh...what?" Leah asked.

"Oh my God, they totally are!" Undyne exclaimed. "I can't believe I didn't notice it the other night! Alphys, take a look at this!" She promptly lifted the smaller monster up and placed her on the counter. "I just thought her eyes were blue before, but she's got an orangey-brown ring around her pupil in each eye."

"Central h-heterochromia," Alphys explained. "I've read about it before. It's a g-genetic eye condition that occurs in h-humans and some surface animal s-species."

"Wait a second," Undyne interjected. "So that's natural?! I thought that was just another type of body modification, like piercings or tattoos."

Leah laughed. "Well, I can assure that I was born with my eyes like this. Actually, both of my sisters have it, too."

"Dude, Alphys, you should take a picture of Leah and send it to Mettaton," Undyne suggested. "He's gonna have a field day with her."

"Mettaton?" Leah asked. "Isn't he that robot guy that performs on TV sometimes? You two know him?"

"H-He's a friend of ours," Alphys replied, taking out her phone and snapping a quick picture. "I-I actually kind of...b-built him."

Leah was going to ask Alphys to elaborate when the door to the shop swung open. The trio turned their heads toward the sound to see a man standing the doorway. He looked to be about Leah's age, though he would have easily towered over her if they were standing side by side, and he appeared to be more toned than Leah was. His hair was dyed similarly to Leah's as well, though his looked to have more blue in it than green. Undyne also noticed that this human had a number of piercings as well: some in each ear, as well as in his eyebrow and nose. What caught her eye the most, though, was that he had a fleur-di-lis tattooed on his neck that matched the one Leah had on hers.

"Yo, Leah, sorry to get back so-," the man began as he made his way toward the counter, only to cut himself off when he caught sight of Undyne and Alphys. "You make some friends while I was out?"

"Hey, Johnny," Leah greeted. "This is Alphys and Undyne. I met them at that party Rose threw last week." A playful smile broke out on her face. "Ya know, the one you were too busy to come to and you forced me to go all by my lonesome."

"Shut up, you drama queen," Johnny retorted, rolling his brown eyes playfully before lightly shoving Leah's shoulder. "You had a good time and you know it." He turned his gaze toward Undyne and Alphys. "It's good to meet you guys."

"Y-You too," Alphys replied. "L-Leah's told us a lot about you."

Johnny quirked an eyebrow. "Has she?"

"I just told them about how we came to be living together; how you rescued me from certain peril like the valiant knight in sour armor you are," Leah elaborated before pointing behind him at a vase of flowers sitting on the other side of the counter. "By the way, the flower dude came by and he dropped those off for you while you were out."

"It's my birthday today," Johnny explained, catching the confused expressions on Alphys and Undyne's faces before walking over to examine the flowers. "Hmm. These from you, Leah?"

"Psh, no," Leah scoffed, rolling her eyes. "I already told you I'm taking you to that overpriced Japanese place you like so much." She nodded toward the card on top of the arrangement. "The card say anything?"

"Yeah, you're right," Johnny chuckled. "Like you'd ever do anything special for my birthday." He picked up the card and opted to read it out loud. "'Dear Johnny, I lied. They're from me. Happy Birthday. Love, Leah'." He turned back to face Leah, a small smile on his face. "You scum!"

"You're welcome," Leah replied, walking over and clapping him on the back. "You know I only do this shit because I love you." She let out a quick sigh before hopping over the counter. "But now that you're back, you can man the fort up here for a bit. Alphys and Undyne stopped in to get some anime, so I'm gonna show them what we've got."

Johnny shrugged. "You're the expert. Just make sure you give 'em fair warning. You just about overloaded me when we watched Attack on Titan for the first time."

* * *

Undyne and Alphys left the shop a couple hours later, each loaded up with as much anime as they could carry. The shop had a fairly wide selection and Leah was quickly able to find a few anime series that fit with both of their tastes. Once they'd gotten back and unpacked all the anime they bought, Undyne bolted out the door, telling Alphys that she was going to see if Sans and Papyrus wanted to watch anything with them.

"Yo, skelebros!" Undyne greeted as she kicked open the door to the brothers' apartment. "Alphys and I picked up a major anime haul today, courtesy of Leah, and I wanted to see if you guys wanted to watch any of it with us. She gave us a little bit of everything, so there's bound to be something we'll all agree on." She couldn't keep the smirk off her face when she noticed Sans perk up from his spot on the couch when she mentioned Leah's name.

"You two saw Leah today?" Papyrus asked. "Has she been doing well?"

Undyne nodded. "Apparently she and Johnny work at that comic book shop down on third street. Haley told Alphys it was the city's best kept secret when it came to anime, so we decided to stop by. And yeah, she seems to be doing okay, but you two probably know how she's doing better than I do, right? I thought Sans had managed to snag her number after the party."

Papyrus rolled his eyes. "He did, but from what I've gathered, they've mostly just been texting memes and puns to each other."

"Hmm. Well, I guess every couple flirts in their own way, right?" Undyne replied as she turned her gaze toward Sans.

"it's not like that," Sans retorted, not moving from his place on the couch. "leah and i are just friends."

"Uh-huh," Undyne said, her tone indicating that she clearly didn't believe him. "That's why you practically stayed glued to her at the party once you two came back in from your little chat on the balcony."

"Undyne has a point, Sans," Papyrus chimed in. "It's not like you to attach yourself to someone so quickly."

Sans didn't reply, his thoughts trained on Leah and the events during and after the party. It was true that he'd remained close to the girl for the rest of the night once they'd come back inside, and it was also true that this behavior was very out of character for him. He wasn't entirely sure what possessed him to stay near her, except that he sensed a sort of kindred spirit within Leah, like whatever was plaguing her mind was similar to what had been plaguing his own. Sans knew a fake smile when he saw one and Leah's, while very convincing, clearly had something lurking beneath it. He hadn't been able to glean much from her after the party; even though they had been texting one another almost constantly, she remained relatively uneasy about letting him in. The only potentially meaningful information he'd gotten from her had been about her recent breakup, but he knew trying to coax anything more out of her would only result in Leah withdrawing even further.

' _quirks aside, it would be nice to see her again,_ ' Sans thought. ' _it's not every day i meet someone with a sense of humor like hers. it helps that she's pretty easy on the eye sockets, too._ '

"So, are you guys coming or not?" Undyne asked impatiently. "Alphys was pretty eager to fire up Sailor Moon."

"I think it sounds like fun!" Papyrus exclaimed, nodding in excitement. "I've been wondering about this 'anime' the humans seem so fond of."

Sans shrugged. "meh. why not?"

"Alrighty! Follow me, nerds!" Undyne exclaimed as she rushed out the door, Papyrus close behind her.

Sans sighed as he watched them go before shutting and locking the door behind him. ' _looks like i'll be making a trip down to third street tomorrow._ '

* * *

 **Ending Notes: Well, I've got the setup for the next meeting for Leah and Sans, as well as Mettaton's introduction planned for the next chapter. One of Leah's sisters will also be making her debut and we'll figure out why Leah's been so dodgy about hanging out with anyone who isn't named Johnny.**

 **I'm really eager to expand more on Leah and Johnny's friendship. Theirs is the most fun for me to write since it's based on mutual insults and hypocritical assaults on each other's character mixed with a shitload of genuine affection.**

 **Please let me know what you guys think so far! Feedback and constructive criticism are always welcome! Thank you guys so much for reading! Geekinthepink, out!**


	4. Magic Eyes

**Author's Notes: I really don't have much to say at the start here aside from an apology for taking so long. I honestly hadn't intended to be delayed like this, but writer's block and no motivation to do anything about it are a bitchy combination.**

* * *

Leah sighed and stretched as she sat on the counter of the comic shop. It was looking to be a slow day today, and she was more than a little grateful for it; she didn't much feel like dealing with people at the moment. Ordinarily she'd be hunkering down behind the counter to take a nap, but Johnny had gone out to pick up some lunch for the two of them, which meant that she was the only one working the counter.

' _Mmm, whatever,_ ' Leah thought with a yawn. ' _I'll just take a nap when John-boy gets back. The hot wings will have to wait._ '

Leah was jolted out of her thoughts when the door to the shop suddenly swung open. Her head immediately snapped toward the doorway and she caught sight of a tall robotic-looking man with silky black hair and glowing purple eyes. She also took note of the large glowing pinkish-purple heart on his stomach.

"Metta-," she began, only to cut herself off when the man's glowing eyes settled on her.

"Are you the girl with the magic eyes?" the man asked as he bolted toward the counter.

"Am I...am I what, now?" Leah asked, leaning back when the robot moved a little too close to her face, scanning over her features.

"Oh, they really are two different colors!" the robot exclaimed, seemingly oblivious to Leah's discomfort. "I thought Alphys had photoshopped that picture she sent me." His eyes swept over her form again. "And those piercings and tattoos! Bold statements, to be sure, but I've not met a human thus far that works them as well as you, gorgeous!" He paused for a moment before stepping back just slightly. "I'm sure you already know this, but I'm Mettaton. And you, darling, are even more of a vision than I thought."

' _Figures,_ ' Leah thought. ' _The one time that Johnny's not with me is the time I get cornered by the most fabulous robot on the planet._ '

* * *

"Sans, I thought you said we were going to see Leah today," Papyrus said with an exasperated sigh. "What are we doing at Grillby's?"

"we _are_ going to see leah today," Sans affirmed, happily taking a swig of ketchup from his spot at the bar. "i just wanted to get something to eat before we did. it's a relief that grillby decided to open up shop once we all came topside."

It was true. A number of the monsters that ran businesses underground wasted no time setting up shop after getting to the surface, eager to market to a new human clientele. Grillby was no exception; the new topside restaurant he'd opened was much larger than the original and it was doing even better now that there were more available patrons. The flame elemental had even gone as far as hiring a waitstaff due to the influx of customers.

Sans was pulled from his thoughts when a human he'd never seen before made his way to the bar. The man's blue and green hair sent a wave of deja vu over the shorter skeleton, as did the number of piercings and tattoos. Recalling what Leah had told him at the party, his eye sockets immediately fell toward the man's neck; the fleur-di-lis tattoo was unmistakable.

"Hey Johnny!" chirped a waitress as she made her way toward him, tossing some of her light blond hair over her shoulder. "I'm assuming you're here pick up those to-go orders." She smiled when she got a good look at his hair. "Aww, your hair matches Leah's."

"Well, we had a shitload of hair dye left over after we finished hers and we didn't want to waste any of it; you know how expensive that shit can be," Johnny explained. "Besides, Leah's turned out so well that I figured I'd give it a shot, too."

"Speaking of Leah, how has she been?" the waitress asked, a look of concern crossing her face. "I talked to her the other day but I feel like I'd have an easier time herding cats than getting Leah to talk about her feelings."

Interest piqued, Sans discreetly shifted to an angle that allowed him to hear them better without it being obvious that he was eavesdropping. A quick glance to the side told him that Papyrus was doing the same thing.

"There haven't been any ...episodes recently, if that's what you mean." Johnny replied. "She seems to be doing a lot better lately, genuinely better, and I'm happy for that. The girl deserves a break."

The waitress gave him a small nod. "And is she still seeing that doctor?"

Johnny nodded. "Yeah, she is. Goes to see her every other week. It seems to be doing her a lot of good."

'' _episodes'? 'doctor'? i had a feeling something was up when i met her, but i didn't think it was a medical issue...,_ ' Sans mused.

A relieved smile crept over the waitress' face and she pushed two plastic bags toward Johnny. "Well, that's good to hear, I guess. You should probably be getting back to her, though. I know how my sister gets when she's hungry."

"hold up a sec," Sans interjected, causing the two humans to look over at him. "sorry to butt in but, this leah girl you've been talking about..." He nodded toward Johnny. "she wouldn't happen to look sorta like a female version of you and have a love of really outdated memes, would she?"

The waitress blinked. "That's my sister alright. But how do you know her? Leah's not much of a-" She cut herself off and Sans could almost see the figurative lightbulb flicking on over her head. "You two are Sans and Papyrus, aren't you?! I don't know how I didn't put it together sooner; her 'skeleton with jokes' comment should have given it away." She glanced over at Johnny, taking in his confused expression. "Sans is in here a lot." She turned back toward the brothers once Johnny nodded. "I'm Eve, by the way; Leah's younger sister."

"Really?" Papyrus asked. "I never would have guessed; you two don't look all that alike."

"Actually, when Leah's hair isn't dyed, the two of them could pass as twins," Johnny commented.

"Speaking of, we heard you mention a doctor that she was seeing," Papyrus began cautiously. "Is Leah sick? If she's going as often as you say, it's got to be something serious."

The smiles immediately dropped off of Eve and Johnny's faces. Eve sent Johnny a questioning glance, clearly wondering whether or not to elaborate any further. Johnny merely shrugged before turning his gaze back to the skeletons.

"This is what we get for bein' so loose-lipped," Johnny said. "I guess there's no real harm in you two knowin'. Just do us a solid and don't let on to Leah that you know any of this, okay. Wait until she brings it up; given how often she and Sans text each other, it's probably just a matter of time."

"you got it," Sans agreed.

"Okay then," Johnny said. "I'll just cut straight to it: Leah's clinically depressed."

Papyrus blinked. "So she's...sad? That's it?"

Eve shook her head. "There's more to it than that, Papyrus. This isn't just a passing mood for Leah; her brain isn't able to regulate her emotions properly, so she can end up stuck in a depressive episode for a long time."

"But... she seemed fine at the party," Papyrus pointed out.

"She's struggled with her depression by herself for a while," Johnny replied. "She's gotten real good at acting like nothing's wrong. But imagine having a voice in your head that constantly tells you how worthless you are, how you don't deserve any of the good things you have going for you, and how everybody you know is probably happier when you aren't around. That's what she deals with almost everyday."

"She must know that none of that is true, though," Papyrus said.

Johnny just shook his head. "She's repeated those things so often that she believes them, now. I honestly don't think Leah hates anything more than she hates herself. The doctor she's been seeing is helping her to fix that, though."

Oh, yes. Sans was all too familiar with feelings of self-loathing. He'd been faced with plenty of it while they were still underground. He supposed that living through countless resets and watching the people you care about get killed over and over again would do that to you. It wasn't a feeling he'd wish on anyone, but it was a little reassuring to know that others suffered similar issues. He and Leah were evidently more alike than he thought.

"Unacceptable!" Papyrus exclaimed suddenly, startling Sans out of his thoughts and causing Eve and Johnny to lean back in surprise. "No friend of the great Papyrus should ever feel that way about themselves! Not when they're friends with someone as amazing as I am! I won't allow it!" He turned toward Sans. "Come, brother! We must find her immediately!"

"Whoa, whoa! Hold up there, big guy," Johnny said, holding his hand up. "I appreciate that you want to help her, but you two can't let on that you know about any of this right now."

"Why not?" Papyrus asked.

"Because if you do, Leah's gonna get real defensive, real fast," Johnny explained. "She doesn't like for many people to know she has these issues and she really doesn't like it when other people bring them up. If you let on that you know about her depression before she tells you about it herself, she's not going to listen to anything you have to say. No matter how well-meaning it might be."

"Nyeeeeeh, but what kind of friend would I be if just stood by and did nothing?" Papyrus asked.

"Look man, the best thing you can do for now is just be there for her and let her know she can rely on you," Johnny replied. "That'll make her open up to you that much quicker and, once she does, you can be as proactive as you want." He glanced at his phone before grabbing the bags. "Well, it was nice meeting you two but I need to be getting back. Leah's probably wondering what the hell's taking me so long."

"mind if we come with?" Sans asked. "we were planning on stopping by anyway."

Johnny shrugged before straightening up. "Cool with me. I'm sure she'd be happy to see you two. But we need to go now; the hungrier Leah gets, the shorter her temper is and I'm really not up for being on the receiving end of it again."

* * *

"Okay... What the actual fuck is going on?" Johnny asked as he and the skeleton brothers walked into the comic shop only to see everyone's favorite robotic celebrity leaning way too close to Leah's face and his metal arms wound around her waist to prevent her from moving.

"Just another day in the life," Leah snarked, glancing toward Johnny while attempting to lean away from Metaton. Her eyes widened a fraction when she caught sight of Sans and Papyrus. "Oh hey, guys. Didn't expect to see you here. I'd come over to ya, but I'm kinda trapped right now."

"and that happened how?" Sans asked.

"Well, I was waiting on Johnny to get his ass back here with the food when this weirdo came charging in and got all up in my face," Leah explained. "Apparently Alphys sent him some picture and he's convinced my eyes are magic."

"Heterochromia?" Johnny asked.

"Heterochromia," Leah agreed. "Anyway, he's had me like this ever since so he could keep staring at them." She glanced back to the robot. "Speaking of, is this really necessary? Can't you just look at that picture Alphys sent if you like my eyes so much?"

"But they're so much more impressive in person, darling!" Mettaton protested cheerfully before unwinding his arms from around her. "But I'll let you go if you insist."

A blue light surrounded Mettaton as soon as he'd released Leah and he was abruptly pulled away from her. Leah glanced over toward the trio to see that Sans' left eye, instead of sporting its usual white pinpricks, was glowing the same shade of blue that surrounded the robot.

"You're just full of surprises, aren't you, skeleman," Leah commented as Sans hopped up onto the counter next to her.

"a skele-ton of mystery, that's what they call me," Sans replied. He sent a small smile Leah's way before he caught sight of something on her arm. The tank top she was wearing had left her arms bare and he was able to see another one of her tattoos: a very elaborate-looking skull with what appeared to be roses coming out of its mouth.

' _why is it that the more i see of her tattoos and piercings, the more attractive i find them?_ ' Sans wondered.

"So is Mettaton always like that or...?" Leah asked.

"more or less," Sans replied. "believe it or not, he does grow on ya a bit." His turned his gaze toward her eyes. "huh. your eyes really are two different colors. no wonder he was so fascinated with them; we didn't normally see monsters with that sort of condition."

"'Condition' makes me sound like I'm rabid," Leah said, a playful smile on her face as she nudged Sans' shoulder.

* * *

 **Ending Notes: I'm not really sure why I feel the need to bring this up, but whenever I write anything with Johnny, I always kinda picture him as looking and sounding a little like Johnny Gat from the Saints Row games. I'm eager to expand a little more on his background and friendship with Leah and why the two of them are as co-dependent as they are.**

 **I really hope I'm able to write Leah decently. I try to make all of my OCs different from one another and Leah is the first one I've ever written that has a clinical mental health issue. We're actually going to see more of it in the next chapter along with some bonding time for Leah and Sans.**

 **Thank you all so much for reading and sticking with me while I dealt with this funk I've been in. As always, feedback and constructive criticism are always welcome. Geekinthepink, out!**


	5. Bad Night

**Author's Notes: Just a quick warning here; this chapter does get a little heavy and there are some references to drug use and underage drinking. I tried to keep this chapter as light-hearted as I could without taking away from its seriousness. Just the same, I hope this fleshes out Leah and Johnny's friendship a little more.**

* * *

Leah let out a quick sigh when she heard her phone vibrating against the coffee table it was laying on. She sat up from her spot on the couch and unlocked the phone to reveal another text from Undyne.

'Are you absolutely sure you don't wanna come chill at Rose and Matt's place?' the text asked.

'Yeah,' Leah texted back. 'Sorry to say, but I'm not really feeling too hot tonight.'

'Fair enough,' came Undyne's reply. 'But you know it's not a party without you and Johnny. And we're still on for anime next week, right?'

'Duh. You know I wouldn't back out of anime night with you and Alphys,' Leah replied before setting her phone back down. She sighed again as she flopped back down onto the couch.

The truth of it was that she'd had every intention of going to see everyone that evening; Johnny was going to be at his uncle's garage for the evening, so she'd have been alone otherwise. Unfortunately for her, a wave of depression hit her like a sack of bricks that morning and she'd expended all the energy she had trying to put on an act for Johnny.

' _It's not like I lied to Undyne or anything,_ ' Leah thought as she rolled over and closed her eyes. ' _Besides, I doubt they'll notice if I'm not there anyway._ '

* * *

The sound of static crackling in the room a short time later caused Leah's eyes to snap open. She sat up and glanced around the living room, but wasn't able to determine the source of the sound. She was about lay back down and assume she'd imagined it due to her half-asleep state when a voice sounded from behind the couch.

"havin' a bad time, kid?"

"Jesus H.!" Leah exclaimed, nearly falling off the couch. She jerked around to look over the back of the couch, only to see Sans grinning back at her. "Sans, what the fuck?! You scared the shit outta me!" She paused for a moment. "How did you get in here, anyway? I'm positive I locked the door."

"yeah, you did," Sans affirmed. "i actually had to teleport to get in here."

"Because that's not stalkerish or anything," Leah snarked. "What are you doing here anyway? Not that I'm unhappy to see you, but I figured you'd be hanging out with everyone else."

"i've actually got a bone to pick with you about that," Sans replied. "i came out tonight because i was under the impression that my favorite human was going to be there, but instead i hear from undyne that you decided to skip out on everyone. mind telling me what's going on?"

Leah merely shrugged and flicked at her nose ring. "It's just like I told Undyne: I'm not feeling too hot tonight."

"yeah, but what's wrong?" Sans probed. He had a feeling he knew the answer, and that was part of the reason he came to see her, but he needed to get her to open up about her depression before he could do anything. "is it a stomach problem or...?"

Leah quirked an eyebrow and was silent for a moment as she studied the smaller skeleton. She sighed when she figured out what was going on. "Sans, you don't have to beat around the bush. Johnny already told me that he told you and Papyrus about..." She gestured to her head. "...this."

"wait a sec, he told you?" Sans asked. "after all he told us about not mentioning it until you opened up about it, he went ahead and told you?"

"Well, to be fair, I kind of drug it out of him," Leah explained. "Ever since that day you and Papyrus came to the shop, Papyrus started sending me texts reminding me that I could always count on him and that he'd be there for me no matter what. It was really sweet of him and I appreciated it, but I thought it was a little odd since he'd never done it before. Then I remembered that you guys ran into Johnny and Eve at Grillby's before coming to the shop so..."

"and you weren't angry about it? johnny said you're a bit sensitive about people knowing," Sans commented.

"I was irritated with him at first, but I know he only told you guys because you were concerned. And I know Papyrus is just trying to help," Leah replied.

"well, now that we've got all that cleared up, is that why you didn't want to hang out with everyone?" Sans asked.

Leah nodded. "Yeah. I got hit with a really bad wave of it earlier today and I used up so much energy trying to keep Johnny from finding out that I didn't have the energy to be around anyone."

"did something happen to bring this on?" Sans asked.

Leah shook her head. "Nope. And that's the most frustrating part about the whole thing. Most of the time nothing happens to cause these stupid episodes. I literally have no reason to feel this worthless and upset but I do because my brain fucking hates me."

"and why do you feel like you have to keep johnny in the dark about it?" Sans asked. "are you worried he's gonna be disappointed in you or somethin'?"

"Nah," Leah replied. "Johnny's probably the only one that I trust not to judge me about stuff like this. It's just that he worries enough as it is and I don't want him to think I'm backpedaling or something. I don't have nearly as many episodes as I did before I met him and the ones I do have don't last as long, so I'm not worried about getting locked into a perpetual depressive episode anymore. Just the same, I know that's something that _he's_ worried about and I don't want to cause him any more stress than I already have. He has enough to worry about as it is."

"do you mind if i ask you about that?" Sans asked. "i'm not gonna lie to ya; i'm a little curious about the two of you."

Leah quirked an eyebrow. "About me and Johnny? What about us?"

"in my personal experience, a friendship as tight as yours doesn't happen unless the people have a pretty significant history together and i'm becoming very interested in yours," Sans explained, flopping down next to Leah on the couch.

"Everything about our history is unusual and...kinda fucked up, now that I think about it," Leah replied.

"which only makes me more interested," Sans insisted.

Leah was silent for a moment, a thoughtful expression on her face, before she began. "Well, to start, I actually didn't like Johnny very much when I first met him. He and I met in group therapy for people with addictions and I was in the middle of the longest-running depressive episodes I'd ever had, so I wasn't very welcoming of his particular sense of humor."

"hold up a sec," Sans interjected. "you said it was therapy for addictions. what were you addicted to?"

"It wasn't an 'addiction' per se, but when I was twenty I'd started turning to alcohol in an attempt to keep my depression at bay," Leah replied. "Not a smart move, I know, but it was either drink myself into oblivion or feel my feelings. My mom and older sister were worried that it was going to spiral out of control if something wasn't done about it, so they sent me to therapy to nip it in the bud. I met Johnny my first day there, after we'd gone around and talked a little about why we were all there, and the first thing he said to me was 'You don't look like the kind of girl who'd have depression. Then again, I don't look the kind of guy who'd have an eight inch cock, so I guess we're both full of surprises'."

Sans snorted. "seriously? _that_ was the first thing he ever said to you?"

Leah let out a short laugh. "Yeah, and had I been in my usual spirits, I probably would have found as hilarious as I do now and we'd have become best friends immediately. But since I was a dark cloud of negativity at that point, I was too put-off by the statement to really respond to it so I just grunted at him and walked away. After that, I made it a point to avoid him for the rest of the time we were in therapy." She took a quick breath, a fond smile crossing over her face. "Fast forward about...four months after the therapy had ended and I was out clubbing and getting drinks with some friends."

"i thought you went to therapy because of your drinking," Sans commented.

"I went to therapy because I was drinking _excessively_ ," Leah corrected. "The point of the therapy was for me to stop using alcohol as a crutch and it worked. That doesn't mean I can't drink anymore, though. I've just stopped drinking to the point of blacking out every night. I can't even tell ya the last time I got really shithammered." She paused for a moment. "But anyway, I was out at a club with friends and I decided I wanted to go dance. So I make my way to the dance floor and I'm dancin' and havin' a good time when some douchebag that I've never met before comes up behind me and starts grinding all up on me. I move away from him, hoping he'll take the hint, but dude just comes back up and does it again. This happens a few more times and, just as I'm about to turn around and start slapping and yelling at him, I feel the guy jerk and stop moving. I turn around and I see Johnny grinding himself against the guy who'd been grinding on me."

"that sounds...exactly like something johnny'd do, actually," Sans said.

"You're tellin' me," Leah replied. "I don't think Johnny's given a single fuck since the day he was born. And, needless to say, he got the guy to back off real quick. After that, we started talking and gradually opened up to each other. I learned that he'd been sent to that therapy group because he'd been addicted to heroin and was trying to get himself clean. He was actually fresh out of rehab when the therapy session started and he wanted to be sure he could actually kick the stuff. I know it wasn't easy for him, but he's been clean for years. The temptation is always gonna be there for him, but he's a strong enough person now to keep from giving in to it."

"so you guys bonded over the darkest experiences of your lives?" Sans asked. "you were right; that is a little fucked up. still, you guys got each other out of the whole mess so at least some benefits were reaped, right?"

"Something like that," Leah said. "We ended up bonding the way we have because we were each other's most constant support. There were times back then, and even now, that I feel like some of my family members and most of my friends don't actually believe I'm going to get better. That's a big reason I didn't want to go and see them tonight; most of the time, I feel like they're constantly watching me and waiting to see me screw up again. Johnny felt the same way about his addiction; even though he'd been clean for a while, there were some members of his family that didn't think he'd be able to stay clean. So we decided that, no matter what anyone else said or thought, we'd be there to support each other. Johnny's never once doubted that I'm going to beat my depression one day and I know he'll be able to stay clean. In fact, I think our resolve to be there for each other has made it easier to keep going; I can't support Johnny if I'm a depressed mess and he can't help me if he's doped up."

"do you mind if i ask what happens to you when you're in a depressive episode, anyway?" Sans questioned. "you don't strike me as much of a cryer."

"That's because I'm not," Leah affirmed. "My depressive episodes rarely involve actual crying. It's usually just this constant feeling of worthlessness and hopelessness. I hardly have the energy to move on some days and I have a hard time sleeping and don't feel like eating, either. I've also got a figurative monkey on my back that keeps telling me that everyone would be better off without me and that, aside from Johnny, none of them actually give two fucks about me. Rose, Matt, Haley...none of 'em. And they wouldn't notice if I wasn't around anymore, either."

"you have to know that isn't true, though," Sans interjected.

Leah shrugged. "It doesn't matter if it's true or not; if you hear something like that repeated over and over again, you start to believe it. That feeling is always there to an extent, even if I'm not in a depressive episode, but I can push it away most days. Sometimes it just gets to be too much for me, though." She glanced over at Sans before sending him a sheepish smile. "Sorry to unload all of that onto you."

Sans just shrugged. "no need for ya to apologise, sweetheart. i was the one that asked ya about it. i think i know somethin' that might lighten ya up a little, though."

"Is that right?" Leah asked.

"mmm. come with me," Sans said, standing up and leading Leah out onto the balcony of the condo. "look up and tell me what you see."

Leah quirked an eyebrow but did as he said. "Stars. What about them?"

"they're pretty far away, aren't they?" Sans asked.

"Yeah?" Leah replied, still unsure where Sans was going with this.

"they were even further away when i was trapped underground with the other monsters," Sans elaborated. "all i'd wanted ever since i was a little baby bones was to be able to see them up close; my telescope only had so much range. the only way for me to be able to see them clearly was to get to the surface, but the years dragged on and it seemed like we would never get out from under that mountain. i grew more and more hopeless and pessimistic each day and reached a point where i'd given up on reaching the surface altogether, but a human stumbled into the underground and changed everything for us. even managed to help pull me back and start giving a damn again."

"And now all of you are on the surface and you can see the stars up close whenever you want," Leah finished.

"bingo," Sans affirmed. "my point is that it wasn't easy, but i was able to reach the surface and finally see the stars. not that you need this affirmation from me, but i'm confident that you can do the same with your depression. humans in general are much stronger and more resilient than monsters but you, in particular, seem to be stronger than the average human. i don't know many people, human or monster, that can wake up each day knowing that they're going to be facing what you do and still put on a smile for the people you care about. i'm not saying it's going to be easy for you to beat your depression, but nothing worth having ever comes easily. if anybody can beat it, though, you can."

"Well, I do appreciate the vote of confidence," Leah replied. "It's been an uphill battle but I've come so far already. I'm not about to give up now and waste all that time and effort. Thanks for listening to me, by the way. It actually makes me feel a little better to have someone else besides Johnny understand the full extent of what I'm going through."

"you don't have to thank me, sweetheart. everyone needs to lean on someone now and then," Sans said before glancing nervously to the side. "also...just to clarify... what you said before about feeling like nobody would notice if you weren't around... well, at the risk of sounding completely cheesy, i'd notice. and the world would be a lot less punny and memetastic without my favorite human."

Leah's eyes widened and she felt her face heat up just a bit. "So you really meant that bit about me being your favorite human?"

"of course i did, you bonehead," Sans replied. "you should know me well enough by now to know i wouldn't say something like that just to make you feel better. i can't joke around with many people like i can with you so..."

Leah smiled before bending down and kissing the top of Sans' head before straightening up again. "I gotcha, skele-man. And, just for the record, you're my favorite monster. Just don't tell Undyne. Or Papyrus." She sighed before turning around and moving to walk back inside. "Welp, you and I have the rest of the evening to kill. How 'bout we order some pizza and watch Whose Line?"

"uh...yeah. sounds good," Sans replied, a bright cyan blush washing over his cheekbones as he followed Leah back inside. ' _oh yeah. you're definitely my favorite, leah._ '

* * *

 **Ending Notes: Yay! I got this chapter to end on a lighter note! Wasn't sure I was gonna be able to do it, but yay for defying my own shitty expectations!**

 **As always, feedback and constructive criticism are more than welcome! Thank you all so much for reading! Geekinthepink, out!**


	6. Heartbeat

**Author's Notes: I just realized while I was writing this chapter that I'd been spelling Mettaton's name wrong this entire time. I've got back and fixed it, though, so I'm just gonna carry on like it never happened and pretend I'm not a complete idiot.**

* * *

"Fret not, my darlings! Your star has returned!" Mettaton announced as he threw open the door to the comic shop once again. He glanced around the shop eagerly for a moment, only to deflate slightly when he didn't find whatever he was looking for.

"Yeah, sorry to disappoint you, Ton-Ton, but Johnny's not here right now," Leah piped up from her usual perch on the store counter, eyes sparkling with amusement. The robotic celebrity had been stopping in more frequently lately and, though he claimed it was because he couldn't get enough of Leah's 'dazzling magic eyes', Leah hadn't missed the almost shy shift in Mettaton's demeanor whenever Johnny was nearby.

Mettaton's head immediately jerked toward the girl, a neon pink blush washing over his metallic face. "Wh-Whatever makes you think I was looking for him, darling? How do you know I'm not just looking over the fine merchandise your lovely shop has to offer?"

"Oh, I believe you come in here to scope out something fine, alright, but I know for a fact it's not the merchandise," Leah retorted. "I've never seen someone come in here as often as you do and never buy anything."

"Still doesn't mean I come in here to see Johnny," Mettaton pouted.

"Oh please, Ton-Ton," Leah replied, rolling her eyes. "The only time you shut up for more than a minute is when you're too busy staring at him." A smug smile graced her lips. "And don't think I've missed the way your eyes land on his ass whenever it's in view. Not that I blame you; it's definitely one of his best features."

"Tell me about it," Mettaton purred, glancing off to one side and biting at his lip for a moment. Then, as if suddenly realizing what he'd said, his gaze quickly shifted to Leah again, only to see her smug smile growing wider. "You look entirely too pleased with yourself."

"That's because I am," Leah retorted.

"Well if you already had this figured out, why did you wait until now to speak up about it?" Mettaton huffed, crossing his arms over his chest.

"I was waiting to see if you'd say something on your own," Leah replied with a shrug. "Besides, it's so unlike you to be this unsure of yourself and I wanted to savor as much of it as I could."

"What do you think I should do then?" Mettaton asked. "I've never faced a situation like this before; most people, human and monster, get more than a little starstruck when they see me, but he barely even notices I'm there unless I'm latched onto you."

"Yeah, speaking of, I'm gonna need you to stop doing that," Leah said. "I'm not a big fan of being clung to."

"But how else am I going to get him to acknowledge me, darling?" Mettaton asked exasperatedly.

"Oh, I dunno. Maybe _actually talking to him_?!" Leah deadpanned. "I know Johnny and I don't really look like the most approachable people in the world, but I can promise that we don't bite unless you want us to. Just try to have a normal conversation with him, ya know? Let him get to know you." She paused for a moment. "I wouldn't recommend having that conversation here, though; you've been pretty good about coming in during the slow times but I figure it's only a matter of time before your adoring fans find out you've been frequenting this place. If we end up getting swarmed here, it might mean more sales for us, but you'll never get enough alone time with him to have that conversation."

Mettaton quirked an eyebrow. "Where are you going with this, starlight?"

"How about I give you Johnny's number and the two of you can work out where and when you wanna meet up," Leah suggested. "FYI he's really fond of Japanese food, so offering to take him to Shogun a few blocks over is pretty much a guaranteed way to get him to meet you."

"Oh darling, you'd really do that for me?!" Mettaton exclaimed.

Leah shrugged. "Yeah, why not? Just text me if you guys plan on coming back to the condo so I can either make sure I'm not there or lock myself away with Rex and Lemur."

Mettaton blinked. "Rex and Lemur?"

"Yeah. I have a tarantula named Rex and Johnny has a ferret named Lemur," Leah elaborated.

"I should have figured as much," Mettaton replied. "I couldn't expect two of the most nonconventional humans I know to keep conventional pets." He sent Leah another smile before pulling her into a bone-crushing hug. "Either way, I can't thank you enough for helping me out with this!"

"What did I just say about the clinging?" Leah gasped out, pushing against the robot. When it became clear that he wasn't letting her go any time soon, she snatched up her phone and quickly texted the first person in her recent contacts.

' _EVE HELP ME! I'VE BEEN TAKEN HOSTAGE BY A FLAMBOUYANT ROBOT WITH LEGS FOR DAYS AND EYEBROW GAME ON FLEEK! DO YOUR JOB AS A LITTLE SISTER AND SAAAAAAAAAVE MEEEEEEEEEE!_ '

* * *

"Looks like another chill night in for us, doesn't it, Rex?" Leah cooed to the tarantula perched on her shoulder, a glass of wine in her hand. She tossed some of her now royal blue hair over her opposite shoulder and flopped down onto the couch, setting her glass down on the coffee table in front of her and turning on the television. A soft smile graced her features as Lemur tore through the living room, as energetic as ever. "Look at us livin' la vida loca."

"oh, i dunno," came a familiar voice. "sounds like you had a pretty exciting afternoon."

"Hey Sans," Leah greeted, tilting her head back to look at him over the back of the couch. "How did you know about that?"

"grillby's is pretty much my second home," Sans replied, hopping over the back to the couch to settle down next to Leah. "i happened to be there when eve got your text. pretty sure she almost blew out a lung from laughing so hard."

"Well a fat lot of help she was," Leah grumbled. "Hang on a sec. If you knew what was going on, why didn't you swoop in and use your pretty glowy blue eye trick to get Mettaton off me like you did before?"

"because i was under the impression that you were a strong independent woman who didn't need no man," Sans snarked, grinning up at her.

"Uh, maybe I needed a _skele-man_ ," Leah snarked back. "Still, you're probably right. If I'd thought fast enough, I could have kicked him in his robo-balls."

Sans cringed. "is...that your usual response when someone hugs you?"

Leah laughed. "Nah, just when someone gets in my personal space after I've made it as clear as I can that I don't appreciate it. I like Mettaton as a person and I wouldn't have an issue with the hugs but every time he grabs onto me, I feel like I'm about to be snapped in half."

"i figured as much," Sans commented. "you've never had a problem with paps hugging you. i know for a fact that he hugs pretty tight."

"He does but I trust him to let go if he starts to hurt me," Leah replied. "Besides, Papy is an innocent sunshine baby and I could never turn down a hug from him even if I wanted to."

"and...could you turn down a hug from me?" Sans asked hesitantly.

Leah looked over toward the skeleton, but he wasn't meeting her gaze. She could have sworn she saw his cheekbones turning a light blue, but the lighting made it hard to tell for sure. "Well you don't really strike me as much of a hugger, but I could never say no to a hug from my favorite monster." She was silent a moment before letting out a quick laugh. "Ya know, I'd say you're about tied with Johnny for being my favorite guy. If he and I didn't have the history we do, you'd have bumped him out of first a long time ago."

Sans chuckled. "is that right? guess i'll have to step my game up. figure i just need to add more dick jokes to my repertoire and figure out how the hell you guys manage to pull off all those weird accents when you talk to each other."

"Don't forget becoming a Game of Thrones fanboy," Leah added. "That's our Sunday night jam right there." She stood up and stretched. "I'll be right back, okay. I'm just gonna put Rex and Lemur up for the evening and then we can watch some more Whose Line."

"you know me too well, sweetheart," Sans replied.

* * *

"so how did johnny come up with a name like lemur for his ferret anyway?" Sans asked a short while later as he and Leah sat watching another Irish Drinking Song segment on Whose Line.

"Well, he was originally going to name him Falcor, but I started calling the little guy Lemur because he kinda looked like one to me," Leah explained. "Now he won't respond to anything else. Johnny was not happy."

Sans snorted. "your troll levels are over 9000."

"I do my best," Leah replied. She pulled her legs up onto the couch and stretched herself out to lay down on her back as she rested her head against his femur.

"uh...heh...comfy?" Sans asked, trying to will his blush away.

Leah nodded. "Mmhmm." She glanced up at him. "Is...Is this okay? I'm not making you feel uncomfortable or anything, am I?"

"huh? oh no, no, you're fine. this is fine," Sans replied hurriedly. ' _except for the fact that you're apparently becoming more attractive every time i see you._ '

Leah smiled up at him before rolling onto her side, still resting against Sans but turned toward the television and facing away from him. From this angle, the skull tattoo on her arm was now clearly visible and, much to his dismay, Sans was having to restrain himself from forming and running his tongue along said tattoo. Instead, he began threading his bony fingers through her hair and along her scalp in an attempt to distract himself, only to nearly stop short when he heard Leah let out a happy sigh at the contact.

"i, uh, i like the new color," he commented. "blue really suits you."

"You think so?" Leah asked. "I just dyed today when I got back from work. Figured it was time for a change."

"well, it, uh, it looks really good," Sans replied. "it's so silky, too..."

Sans trailed his fingers through the entire length of Leah's hair for a few minutes before finally resting his hand on her back. He quirked a brow bone when he noticed a soft thumping coming from Leah's body and he pressed his hand flat against her back to try to see if he could figure out the cause.

"You okay, Sans?" Leah asked. "You've been quite for a while."

"yeah. it's just...i can feel something thumping inside your body," Sans replied. "is that a human thing or should i be concerned?"

"Thumping...," Leah repeated before falling silent for a moment. "Sans, how much do you know about human anatomy?"

"i know it's one of the most complicated things i've ever researched," Sans replied. "i was under the impression that you guys were just skeletons mixed with squishy bits and covered with skin and hair, but your circulatory system by itself is an absolute marvel." He looked down at her. "what does that have to do with the thumping, though?"

"Well I'm no biology expert, so this explanation might be a little overly-simplistic, but the human heart's primary function is to pump blood through the body. The thumping that you're feeling is what a heart does while it's working to do that. It's called a 'heartbeat' and it's a pretty standard thing for humans," Leah explained. "If a human's been physically active in some way or is experiencing some sort of intense emotion, the heartbeat will increase and become considerably faster, but otherwise it pretty much stays at the same rate."

"so this...'heartbeat' is a good thing, then?" Sans asked.

Leah sat up and nodded. "It's when you can't feel or hear the heart beating that you need to be concerned. It means the human's either dead or pretty close to dying."

"wait...you can listen to a person's heartbeat?" Sans asked. He looked over to Leah hesitantly before looking back toward the television, blue dusting over his cheekbones again. "could i...would you mind if...i mean-"

"Come over here, ya goober," Leah said with a giggle, laying back against the armrest of the couch and holding her arms out to him.

"i just don't want you to think i'm trying anything," Sans explained as he hesitantly moved toward her.

"Trust me, I'd have no problem telling you to fuck off if I did," Leah assured him, carefully guiding him to lay down with her, resting his skull against her chest. "Can you hear it?"

Sans was busily trying to focus on anything besides the fact that his skull was currently nestled between the breasts of a human female that he was becoming increasingly attracted to, so much so that he nearly missed Leah's question. ' _okay, okay. don't think about how...how soft they are; just focus on her heart._ ' It wasn't long before he was able to make out a soft ' _thump-thump_ ' sounding from inside her chest. Any awkwardness he may have felt melted away at the sound, instantly replaced with a sense of awe. "i...i can. this is incredible..."

Leah giggled again. "You think so?"

Sans nodded slowly. "you're being kept alive by an organ roughly the size of your fist. i am listening to that organ do its job. i am listening to you being alive. the closest thing monster bodies have to something like this is a soul and, even then, humans have those too."

Leah smiled, gently winding her arms around Sans' back. "Well, when you put it like that..."

"it's kind of a soothing sound too," Sans continued. "like it's telling me that you're still here and you're going to be okay..."

The pair laid together in silence for a long while, Sans listening intently to Leah's heart. Eventually, the soothing rhythm proved to be too much for the skeleton and he was quickly lulled to sleep.

' _Undyne wasn't kidding_ ,' Leah thought as she smiled warmly at Sans' sleeping form. ' _You really are a total nerd, aren't you, skeleman. Good thing you're so cute or I'd never let you hear the end of this._ ' She planted a quick kiss to the top of his skull before settling back against the armrest and falling asleep herself.

Neither of them noticed the incorporeal figure shrouded in black manifest itself next to the couch, tilt its head down toward the two of them, and smile gently before blinking out of existence again.

* * *

 **Ending Notes: Yeah. Sans may or may not have a bit of a tattoo kink in this fic.**

 **I don't think I've mentioned this yet and I know it hasn't come up in the story itself, but most of the OCs introduced thus far are in their mid to late twenties; Leah and Johnny are both 26. The only real exception so far is Eve (19).**

 **Also, finally gonna bring in Frisk and Toriel in the next chapter!**

 **Let me know what you guys think! I love hearing from you and feedback and constructive criticism are always welcome! Thank you all so much for reading! Geekinthepink, out!**


	7. New Neighbors

**Author's Notes: I honestly meant to cut this chapter off way sooner but it kept snowballing into this hot mess express. Hopefully the length makes up for the wait time!**

* * *

' _Ya know, as much as I wanna stay in shape, I'm starting to wonder if it's really worth getting up before noon on my days off,_ ' Leah thought as she began her second lap around the apartment complex, her blue hair tied back into a ponytail. She had begun jogging at her therapist's suggestion to help her combat her changes in appetite brought about by her depressive episodes and despite all her inward complaining, she found that it did help and that she enjoyed it, too. It also helped that the complex was shaped like a giant circle with a single road running between the apartment buildings on either side, making it a convenient place to jog in the mornings. She took note of a moving truck parked outside the building she and Johnny lived in before continuing on her jog. ' _Guess the condo on the second floor was rented out._ '

Leah was about halfway through her second lap when she a sound coming from somewhere off the road. She slowed to a stop to listen closer; it sounded like it was coming from the side of one of the apartment buildings. She walked around the apartments, toward the sound, only to see a child with a mop of brown hair curled into a ball next to the building and sniffling softly. Leah glanced around; there was nobody around in the immediate area that appeared to be looking for the kid. Her protective older sister instincts took over immediately and she made her way closer to the child.

"Are you okay, sweetie?" Leah asked softly, kneeling down to the child's level in an attempt to look less threatening.

The child uncurled just enough to look up at Leah, seemingly taking in her appearance. Leah noticed that the child's eyes lingered near the center of her chest for a moment before they uncurled completely and sat up, wiping their eyes. "I'm okay. I lost my mom. We were moving into one of the condos here and I wanted to explore a little bit, but the buildings all look the same and now I can't find my way back..."

"Well I'll help you get back to your mom, sweetie. Don't worry about that," Leah replied. Recalling the moving truck parked outside her building, she pulled out her phone and began to scroll through it for Johnny's number, straightening up as she did so. "What does your mom look like? I think I might know where she is, but I want to have my friend check and make sure."

"Well, she's really tall and she's got white fur and horns, kind of like a goat. She doesn't wear shoes and...she was wearing a purple dress. Her name is Toriel and she's the best mom ever," the child described, hopping up eagerly and moving to stand next to Leah. "And I'm Frisk, by the way! I really appreciate you helping me."

Leah smiled. "It's nice to meet you, Frisk! I'm Leah and, if I'm right about this, my friend Johnny and I are gonna be your new neighbors. Let me just call him real quick to make sure." She tapped Johnny's name on her contact list and waited.

"This better be important, boo-berry," Johnny growled as he picked up, the heaviness in his voice indicated Leah had woken him up. "It is ten-thirty on a day off, Leah. I am trying to sleep."

"Oh stuff it, you diva," Leah shot back, though the playfulness in her voice was evident. "I need your help. I ran into a lost kid while I was out jogging-"

"You can't keep it," Johnny cut in.

"Shut up, ya dingus," Leah replied. "Anyway, the kid's name is Frisk and they've been separated from their mom. I remember seeing a moving truck parked in front of our building, so I'm guessing they're moving into that vacant apartment on the second floor. Would you care to head down there and see if she's there? If she is, will you let her know that Frisk and I will be there in little bit?"

"Sure, but can ya give me an idea of who I'm lookin' for?" Johnny asked.

"Tall white goat monster named Toriel wearing a purple dress and no shoes," Leah replied.

"Goat monster, huh? That'll make this much easier, then," Johnny commented. "I'll head down there now and see what I can find out. I'll keep ya posted."

"Thanks bro. See ya in a bit," Leah said, hanging up the phone and turning back to Frisk, who immediately dashed over and grabbed her hand. "We should head back, sweetie. Your mom is probably worried sick about you."

* * *

Johnny had made his way down to the second floor and, sure enough, the previously vacant condo had its door opened. He subtly poked his head through the open door and noticed a flurry of white fur dashing through the condo as well as the scraping of furniture and the opening and closing of various closet doors.

"Uh...hey," Johnny began uncertainly, causing the figure in the room to pause and jerk her head towards him. Yep. That was definitely the goat monster Leah had described to him. "I'm sorry to intrude but your name wouldn't happen to be Toriel, would it? Do you have a child named Frisk, by chance?"

The goat-woman dashed toward Johnny immediately at the mention of Frisk's name, panic alight in her eyes. "Yes, yes I do! Have you seen them?! Are they alright?! They slipped away from me in all the confusion of moving and they don't have their phone so I haven't been able to reach them!"

"Well I haven't seen Frisk myself but my friend Leah stumbled across them while she was out running and asked me to come and find you," Johnny replied. "She and Frisk are on their way back here now, so they shouldn't be too much longer. Actually, let me call her real quick-"

"Not necessary, dude," Leah cut in as she and Frisk walked up the stairs toward the pair. She smiled warmly as Toriel wasted no time in scooping Frisk up into her arms and began smothering their face in kisses, the child playfully struggling to get away.

"I can't thank you enough for finding Frisk, dear! I-" Toriel cut herself off abruptly as she finally focused her gaze on Leah, her face alight with something akin to recognition as she glanced at the girl's eyes as well as on the center of her chest, similar to what Frisk had done earlier. "L-Lori? Lori, is that you?"

"Uh...," Leah trailed off, exchanging a confused glance with Johnny before returning her attention to the goat mother. "No, my name's Leah. I'm sorry, I think you may have mistaken me for someone else."

"Oh... Yes, yes of course. Please forgive me, dear," Toriel replied, shaking her head as she set Frisk back down. "For a moment, you reminded me of an old friend." A gentle smile crossed her muzzle as she held out her arms and drew both Leah and Johnny into a warm hug. "I am Toriel. It's a pleasure to meet you both. I still can't express how grateful I am for your help. Am I correct in assuming you two live around here?"

Johnny nodded. "Yeah. We actually live on the top floor of this building in 5B."

"Oh, that's wonderful!" Toriel replied cheerfully, clapping her paws together. "Would it be too presumptuous of me to ask if you'd like to join the two of us and some of our friends here for dinner tonight?"

"That sounds great, Toriel, but are you sure it's okay?" Leah asked. "We don't want to inconvenience you or anything."

"Nonsense, child! The more, the merrier!" Toriel said with a wave of her paw. "Consider it our way of thanking you both for helping us."

"Yeah!" Frisk agreed, latching onto Leah's hand again. "C'mon, you guys are so cool! I'm sure you'd get along with our friends just fine!" Frisk gave Leah the biggest, most pitiful puppy eyes they could muster. "Pleeeeeeease?"

Leah smiled again before gently squeezing Frisk's hand. "Guess I can't say no to that face."

"That settles it, then," Johnny chimed in. "What time should we be here tonight?"

"Everybody's coming at six tonight!" Frisk chirped before dashing into the condo, pulling a cell phone out of the boxes, and rushing back outside. "We should trade numbers, though. That way we can let you guys know if something changes."

Phones were passed around and numbers were eagerly exchanged. The group conversed for a little while longer before Johnny politely excused himself; he 'had a hot date with a bottle of blonde hair dye'.

"Sorry about him," Leah said with a laugh after Johnny had gone back up the stairs. "He's been really eager to dye his hair again for a while now. I'm sure he's still pretty tired too. He was up pretty late last night on the phone with someone and I kinda woke him up when I ran into Frisk." She glanced at all the boxes that still remained unopened in the living room. "Do you guys need any help unpacking?"

"Well I'd hate to burden you any further after all you've done, but some assistance would be greatly appreciated," Toriel replied.

"It's no trouble, Toriel," Leah replied. "I know how tedious unpacking can be; had to do it myself not too long ago when I moved in with Johnny. Just give me a little time to shower and get changed and I'll be right back."

* * *

"So do you have any family in the city, Leah?" Toriel asked as she and Leah set about unpacking the kitchenware later that afternoon.

"Yes and no," Leah replied as she began stacking plates into a cabinet. "My younger sister, Eve, is going to college in the city and she stays in the dorms during the school year. She lives with our mom during summer vacation and other school breaks, though."

"Does your mother live far from here?" Toriel asked.

Leah shook her head. "Not really. She's about forty-five minutes from the city so she can still get to us pretty quick if something comes up, but it's too far for Eve to be able to commute to campus every day."

"That must be hard for your mother," Toriel commented sadly. "Every parent wants to see their children grow up to become independent and competent, but I imagine it still stings once they're grown and on their own."

"I know it was tough for her at first when Eve moved into the dorms but I think the fact that Eve loves college as much as she does makes it a little easier on mom," Leah replied. "I think it also helps that our big sister Liz and her husband live within walking distance of mom's house, so it's not like she's completely alone. Liz also had a baby girl a few months ago so mom's been pretty busy with that."

"Oh, how sweet! You all must be thrilled!" Toriel exclaimed before pausing for a moment. "Forgive me, but I noticed that you haven't mentioned anything about your father. Is he...still around."

"Hmm? Oh yeah, he's still alive and kickin'," Leah confirmed with a nod. "He just isn't able to see us very often because of his job. The last time I saw him was at Liz's wedding and that was...well over a year ago."

"Goodness, what kind of job does he have that requires him to be away from his family so often?" Toriel asked.

Leah shifted uncomfortably. "Uh...well-"

The door to the apartment was thrown open before Leah could finish her answer and a familiar head of flaming red hair appeared in the doorway. Undyne strode into the living room and glanced around before her eyes finally locked on Leah's. The fish-woman made her way to Leah in a flash and pulled her into a bone-crushing hug, lifting her off the ground as she did so.

"There's my favorite loser!" Undyne exclaimed. "How ya been, punk?! Diggin' the blue hair, by the way!"

"S-Sorry to just b-barge in like this, T-Toriel," Alphys chimed in softly. She must have come in behind Undyne. "F-Frisk told us that you had run into a c-couple of our f-friends today and-"

"And that Leah saved Frisk's life and was gonna be having dinner with us tonight!" Undyne interjected. "We happened to be running some errands nearby so we figured we'd pop in and make sure everything was okay! I knew you guys were moving into the same apartment complex as them but I didn't know you were gonna be living in the same building!"

"That's not what I said!" Frisk protested as they stepped out of their room. "I told you that my cool new blue-haired neighbor helped me find my way back to mom today."

"It's quite alright, you two," Toriel said with a laugh. "I wasn't aware that you knew Leah and Johnny." She glanced at Leah before her expression shifted to one of concern. "You might want to put her back down, Undyne. I think she might be having trouble breathing."

Undyne held Leah out from her for a moment and studied her face. "Huh. Look at that; your face is starting to match your hair, punk." She set Leah down again before glancing around the condo. "Speaking of weird hair, where's Johnny? I texted him to tell we were gonna swing by but he never answered."

Leah was about to reply when a buzzing noise sounded from her jeans pocket. She fished out her phone and unlocked it before reading over her text. "Speak of the devil. He asked me to come back up to our place real quick. Says he needs me to check something for him." She smiled over to Toriel. "Do you need any more help unpacking, Toriel?"

"No, my dear," Toriel replied. "I believe we have more than enough unpacked for me to get dinner started. Is Johnny alright, though?"

"Oh yeah, he's fine," Leah said. "I have a feeling he wants me to come up and see how his hair turned out. He likes to get a seal of approval before his new hair makes a public debut and he asks me because I'm not afraid to tell him if it sucks."

"Hang on, I'm comin' with ya," Undyne said. "I haven't seen my other favorite loser in too long!"

* * *

"So what's goin' on with you and Sans?" Undyne asked as she and Leah made their way up the stairs.

Leah quirked an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"Don't play dumb, you punk," Undyne retorted. "Johnny told me he came in a couple nights ago and found you two asleep on the couch. And that bone boy had his skull buried in your chest."

"I-It wasn't like that!" Leah protested, her face turning a light pink. "He just wanted to listen to my heartbeat!"

"Uh-huh," Undyne commented dryly.

"I'm serious! Sans and I are just friends!" Leah insisted.

"And you let all your friends stick their heads in your chest?" Undyne asked.

"Geez, you're worse than Johnny!" Leah said, exasperation evident in her tone. "He's been riding me about it too but I keep telling him that even if I did like Sans like that, and I'm not sure I do just yet, I'm not really ready for a relationship right now."

"Why not?" Undyne asked, her expression tensing a bit. "Is it because Sans is a monster?"

"Huh? Oh God, no! It's nothing like that!" Leah assured her. "I couldn't care less what species he is, honestly. Come on Undyne, you know me better than that."

"Right, sorry," Undyne said, an apologetic smile on her face. "What's the problem, then?"

"I'm just... At the risk of sounding totally lame, I'm still really sore from my last breakup," Leah explained. "I know it doesn't really seem like it most of the time and my ex was a total prick anyway, but five years is a long time to be with someone only to be tossed aside as soon as they find something better. I'm still pretty bitter about it so I think it's best for me to take some time to just be single for a little while, you know? I have enough personal baggage as it is; I don't wanna bring baggage from my last relationship into a new one."

Undyne nodded in understanding. "I get that. Still, Johnny snapped a picture of the two of you and sent it to me and Alphys. You guys are beyond adorbs and we totally ship it now!"

Leah rolled her eyes playfully. "Ugh. Whatever, Undyne. Does he even like me that way?"

Undyne shrugged as they reached the door to Leah and Johnny's condo. "Dunno. But the fact that he didn't give me a straight answer when I asked him and that his skull gets all blue whenever someone mentions you around him now has to count for something, right?"

Leah unlocked the door to the condo, mumbling something about 'damn shippers and their OTPs', before flinging the door open and walking in. "Alright Johnny, I'm here. Let Undyne and me have a look at your latest work of art, exalted hair guru!"

"Yeah nerd! I wanna see what you did this ti-," Undyne cut herself off when Johnny walked out of his bedroom, her face falling just slightly. "Oh, you're a blonde now."

"Yeah," Johnny replied, running his fingers through his now golden-blonde hair. "Why do you sound so disappointed, Undyne?"

"I'm not disappointed," Undyne protested. "I just didn't expect you to dye your hair a natural color. Natural for humans, anyway."

Johnny shrugged. "Oh, we do. But I like going blonde every so often. I've wanted blonde hair ever since I was a kid but I was always told growing up that I wasn't 'supposed' to be blonde."

"Why's that?" Undyne asked.

"Stereotypes," Johnny explained. "My dad's side of the family is Korean and I look almost exactly like him, naturally black hair included. Whenever I expressed any sort of interest in having lighter hair, I had a number of relatives and even a few friends tell me I couldn't have blonde hair because Asians just...didn't. So once I got a older, I started to dye my hair blonde every so often just to spite them. I say 'fuck you' to racial stereotypes."

"Hmm. I thought humans just made idiotic and unfounded assumptions about monsters," Undyne mused. "Didn't realize they made 'em about each other too."

"Most humans don't, but there's always a very vocal minority that's too narrow-minded to accept anything outside of what they think is normal," Leah commented. "Johnny and I get weird looks from time to time because of the hair dye and the tattoos and the piercings. Some people have told us we're going to hell for it, like having tattoos is opening a portal for some malevolent spirit or something. You learn to ignore it after a while."

"Seriously?!" Undyne asked incredulously. "Some humans are that fuckin' stupid?!"

"Oh please, you should hear some of the flak I get for being gay," Johnny said with a snort. "Again, most people don't really give a fuck but the minority that get their panties in a twist about it are pretty vocal. Probably because I'm having better sex than they are."

"I like the way you think, goldilocks!" Undyne exclaimed, exchanging a brofist with Johnny. "Seriously, why can't more people be as awesome as you nerds? The skelebros and Alphys and I live in a blended apartment complex but I guess some people have been...less than excited about the complex being opened to monsters."

"Are you guys being threatened?" Leah asked.

"It's mostly dirty looks and occasional snide comments," Undyne replied. "I think most of the jerks are too intimidated by us to actually do anything to us. It's just that I can tell it's starting to get to Alphys and Papyrus and the office managers aren't doing much of anything to stop it..."

"You guys shouldn't have to deal with that," Johnny said. "You all pay to live there just like everyone else; it shouldn't be too much to ask for for you to feel safe there." He was silent a moment, a thoughtful expression on his face. "Why don't you guys just move into this complex? I know for a fact that the guys that live across the hall from us will be moving out at the start of next month."

"Oh, oh! Alphys and I are callin' dibs on that one!" Undyne cheered. "But what about Sans and Papyrus? Do you guys know if another two bedroom is gonna be opening up?"

"Not in this building but I can find out pretty quick if one's available in another building," Johnny replied. "My grandparents actually own this apartment complex, so I'm sure we can figure something out. And don't worry about people giving you guys a hard time here; we have plenty of monster tenants already and none of them have had any problems. My grandfather's got no tolerance for harassment of any sort and...he's a pretty scary man when he's pissed off."

"You'd really do that for us?" Undyne asked.

"Do you even have to ask?" Leah retorted. "We know how stupid some people can be and you guys shouldn't have to put up with them just because they can't accept change. I just wish you'd said something sooner."

Johnny nodded in agreement. "I'll talk with my grandfather later on tonight after we have dinner. We need to make sure he doesn't have anybody else in line for the condo across from us but, even if he does, there should be some apartments available. We should also probably check with Sans and Papyrus too and make sure they're on board with moving here."

Undyne's gave the pair an uncharacteristically warm smile before pulling them into a hug. "You punks are the best. I just hope you realize that."

Leah and Johnny shrugged. "We try."

* * *

"Sans, Alphys, can I ask you something? About Leah?" Toriel asked the shorter skeleton as she prepared dinner. The brothers arrived not long after Undyne and Alphys; Frisk had immediately pulled Papyrus toward their room to work on some puzzle games.

"A-About Leah?" Alphys asked, a tiny smirk gracing her snout when she noticed Sans' cheekbones turning a light blue.

"Yes. You both have known her longer than I have but I was curious... In the time that you've known her, has she displayed any sort of...unusual abilities?" Toriel inquired.

"'unusual abilities'?" Sans repeated. "what, you mean like magic? nah, tori, you know humans can't use magic anymore. the last mages died out centuries ago."

"W-Why do you ask?" Alphys probed.

"It's probably nothing but...Leah bears an almost uncanny resemblance to an old friend of mine," Toriel explained. "When she brought Frisk back this morning, I thought..."

"and i'm assuming this old friend was a human magic user?" Sans asked.

Toriel nodded. "Not only did they look the same physically, but their Souls bore a remarkable resemblance as well."

"Y-You looked into Leah's S-Soul?!" Alphys asked incredulously.

"I know it was a massive violation of their privacy, but I needed to know what their intentions were," Toriel assured the smaller monster. "You know monsters haven't exactly been well-received by some and I couldn't take any chances with Frisk involved. Neither Leah's nor Johnny's Souls held any sort of malice or ill-will."

Sans snorted. "i could'a told ya that." He glanced around for a moment before awkwardly clearing his non-existent throat. "so, uh, what else did you see when you looked at leah's soul?"

"S-Sans!" Alphys exclaimed. "That is extremely p-personal in-information!"

"She has a point, Sans," Toriel agreed calmly, a teasing smile gracing her muzzle. "Is there any particular reason you've taken such an interest in Leah's Soul?" Her smile only widened when Sans' cheekbones darkened even further and he turned his head away; she could also pick up a barely audible 'eeeeeeeee' sound coming from Alphys. "Well, I won't go into any specifics regarding what I saw but I suppose there's no harm in telling you predominant color of their Souls; Johnny's predominant color is orange and Leah's is purple."

"bravery and perseverance, huh?" Sans mused. "that makes sense."

"There...is something else I wanted to share with the two you," Toriel continued, her smile falling. "When I looked at Leah's Soul, I saw...something...wrapped around it. I'm not sure what it was; it looked almost like a black coil around her Soul."

"A b-black coil?" Alphys asked.

Toriel nodded. "It didn't seem to be causing Leah any harm; in fact, it didn't even seem to have a solid hold on her since it kept blinking in and out of sight. Still, it concerned me greatly and I was wondering if you two knew of anything similar occurring."

"can't say that i've ever heard of anything like it, tori," Sans replied. "it's not normal, but there's no sense in panicking if leah isn't being hurt. we still need to keep an eye on the situation, though."

"I-I agree with Sans," Alphys concurred. "I h-haven't heard of anything like this happening either, but I'll g-go back through my old n-notes and see what I can find. S-Someone should probably t-tell Leah soon, though. That was i-if she notices anything strange h-happening to her, she can let us know."

"i'll take care of that," Sans replied. "i want to get a look at that coil myself and i can't see leah's soul unless i pull it from her. next time we hang out alone, i'll find some way to bring it up and see if she'll let me have a look at it."

"Thank you, Sans," Toriel sighed gratefully. "It's entirely possible that the coil is harmless, but I don't think we should take any chances. Not when it could pose a risk to our friend."

* * *

 **Ending Notes: Is that the beginning of a plot I smell? What's going on with Leah's Soul? For that matter, who is Lori and what kind of connection, if any, does Leah have with her?**

 **I know I said this story wasn't going to have a plot but I also said I'd be referring to Frisk as a girl in this story so I guess I'm just a liar, liar, plants for hire. The truth is that I hadn't intended for LYL to have a plot when I started it, but the ideas kept popping into my head and I found a way to make them work with what I'd already written.**

 **I also want to say something concerning Leah's father. I do have plans for him to appear later on in the story and I want you guys to know ahead of time that 1) he is not a bad man, he just does bad things, and 2) he adores his daughters more than anything. His love for them is a pretty big reason for why he keeps his distance but he will come through for them when they need him the most.**

 **Please let me know what you guys think because I love hearing from you! Feedback and constructive criticism are always welcome! Thank you so much for reading and for being patient with me! Geekinthepink, out!**


	8. Move-Ins and Pottermore

**Author's Notes: I'm starting to think that Johnny is a combination of Christian Delgrosso, Brandon Calvillo, and Daz Black while Leah is a mix of Sarah Schauer, Aaron Doh, and Marcus Johns (go check out their Vines if you haven't already because they're all hilarious).**

 **All of the Harry Potter house descriptions came from Wikipedia. Because reasons.**

 **Happy belated birthday to Undertale! Please enjoy this fanfic trash!**

* * *

"Hey skelenerds!" Undyne hollered as she stuck her head back in the doorway of Toriel's apartment. "Get yer boney butts out here! We've gotta ask you somethin'!"

"What's the matter, Undyne?!" Papyrus called as he rushed out of the apartment, Sans strolling out behind him a short moment later. "Do you require The Great Papyrus' assistance with a puzzle?"

"Nah, nothin' like that, but I do have a question for you two," Undyne replied. She jerked a thumb back toward Leah and Johnny who were standing a ways behind her, Johnny with his phone pressed to his ear and Leah leaning against the wall next to him. "The long and the short of it is that those two nerds are ridiculously EPIC and offered to try and get me and Alphys into the condo across from theirs once the people in there move out."

"They can do that?" Papyrus asked.

Undyne shrugged. "Apparently Johnny's grandparents own this complex. Go figure." She looked over to the pair of humans, making eye contact with Leah briefly, before turning back to the brothers. "Anyway, they wanted to know if you two were interested in getting a place in this complex too. Johnny's talkin' to his grandfather for me and Alphys now, so we figured we could ask him for you guys too, if you're in."

"It would be nice to be so close to everyone," Papyrus commented.

"do we even know if this place is monster-friendly, though?" Sans asked.

"If it wasn't, they wouldn't have let Toriel move in," Leah pointed out as she stepped up next to Undyne. "When you guys came aboveground, Johnny's grandfather wasted no time letting residents know that he was going to open the complex to any monsters that wanted to live here. He also made it clear that he wouldn't tolerate any discrimination and that he'd be taking any and all reports of it seriously."

"it still sounds a little too good to be true to me," Sans replied. "no offense to Johnny or his family."

Leah shrugged. "I get that. But the man said himself that all business is good business. As long as his tenants are paying rent on time, it doesn't matter if they're human or monster. It's up to you guys, though." She shot them a quick smile before hopping back over to Johnny and resuming her place against the wall.

"Come on, Sans," Undyne insisted. "It's a pretty good deal. I get that you're skeptical but Leah and Johnny have no reason to lie to us about this."

"And we would be closer to all our friends, especially after Undyne and Alphys move in," Papyrus added.

Sans was silent for a while. Moving into the complex really did seem like a pretty good deal. Sans knew of a couple monsters who were already living in the condos and they all seemed to enjoy the environment. The fact that they had some human friends already living here made the place that much more appealing as well. And now that Papyrus seemed set on moving, there wouldn't be much Sans could say that would dissuade him.

' _maybe it really would be in our best interest to at least give this place a shot,_ ' Sans thought, his gaze drifting toward Leah. Being closer to her would definitely be a plus; she was one of the few people he could stand being around for a prolonged period of time and it would give him a better chance to keep an eye socket on her in the event that whatever was wrapped around her soul turned out to be harmful. Besides, lately he'd been rather confused with regards to his feelings toward her; his connection and friendship with her was genuine from the moment they'd met but he'd noticed that his soul had been almost... _craving_ the presence of hers ever since the night he'd stayed with her when she'd skipped out on that party. Back when he was still living underground, Sans had never really let himself get wrapped up in romance; no point in getting too attached when it could all just be ripped away. He wasn't entirely sure that the feelings he was having were romantic ones but he knew he was attracted to Leah in some way. Admittedly, he was a little wary of becoming too attached to her in the event of another reset, but having her nearby meant being able to spend more time with her which could eventually lead to him sorting out what he was feeling. He looked back to Papyrus and Undyne. "why not? it could be fun."

Undyne let out a whoop and pumped her fist in the air before turning toward Leah and Johnny. "They agreed, nerds! Now work your magic like the awesome punks you are!"

* * *

Johnny had been able to ensure that Undyne and Alphys claimed the condo across from his and Leah's. His grandfather had informed him that, while there weren't any other condos in their building that were coming available at the moment, one was going to be open in the next building over at the end of the month. Leases were drawn up, deposits were paid, and the end of the month arrived in what felt like a matter of hours.

Undyne, Alphys, Papyrus, and Sans had gathered outside Leah and Johnny's condo. The pair had offered to help them move into their new condos. Sans had wasted no time in teleporting his and Papyrus' belongings into their new place the night before, but Undyne had insisted on moving in 'the old-fashioned way'.

"Wake up, losers!" Undyne yelled as she pounded on the door. "It's move-in day!"

Johnny answered the door a moment later; he must have already been awake when they arrived. "Hey guys. We'll be out in a sec. I've just gotta wake Leah up real quick." He paused before quickly waving them inside. "Actually...you guys should probably come in."

Undyne quirked an eyebrow. "Why?"

Johnny took a breath. "Anybody who makes an attempt at waking Leah up is staring death in the face; I'm no exception. I'd like you guys to hang around as witnesses in case she tries to murder me."

"L-Leah's not much of a m-morning person, then?" Alphys asked.

"Leah's not much of a waking up person," Johnny clarified. "Doesn't really matter what the time of day is; she just hates being woken up. It's normally not too bad and most of the time she just grumbles at whoever tries to get her up, but she's nearly broken my face enough times that it's made me a little cautious."

"Seriously?" Undyne asked. "But Leah's punches are usually so wimpy. I didn't think she had it in her to actually hurt someone."

"Normally she can't," Johnny said with a shrug. "Seems like she's only able to put any force behind her punches when she's semi-conscious. Guess she's just weird like that. But anyway, we're burning daylight. Let me get Leah up and we can get started."

The four followed Johnny as he walked back into the condo and nudged the door to Leah's bedroom open. Much like the rest of the condo, posters from various movies, TV shows, and anime series decorated the walls and Rex's terrarium was visible next to a window on the far side of the room. Johnny wasted no time in climbing onto Leah's bed and hovering over her. "Wake up, stupid. It's mornin-time!"

Leah let out what sounded like a growl before rolling onto her back and opening her eyes to look up at Johnny blearily. The pair held the stare for a long moment before Leah lifted up her arm and weakly smacked him in the face.

Undyne immediately began cracking up. "That's more or less the reaction I was expecting you'd get! Still, I think you overexaggerated a bit. You made it seem like Leah was gonna mangle your face the second you tried to get her up."

"Oh no, I _have_ punched him in the face before," Leah commented, pushing Johnny back so she could sit up. "I never appreciate being woken up, but at least this time I was able to to register who he was." She yawned and rubbed at her eyes before stretching her arms up over her head. Sans tried to hide the light cyan that washed over his cheekbones as the motion caused her tank top to ride up a bit, revealing what appeared to be a tattoo of some sort of spider on her abdomen. "Just give me a sec to get dressed and I'll be right down to help you guys."

* * *

Move-in day went off without a hitch. Between Johnny, Undyne, and Papyrus competing to see who could bring in the most boxes in the least amount of time to Leah and Alphys' ridiculous efficiency when it came to unpacking to Sans teleporting in the larger pieces of furniture when he decided to stop napping for a few minutes, the day passed rather quickly.

"Thanks for helping us out today, guys," Undyne said as the group lounged around Leah and Johnny's living room later that evening.

"Don't worry about it," Leah replied from her spot stretched out on the floor, munching on a slice of pizza as she stared at the laptop screen in front of her. "Moving's a pain in the ass when you have to do everything all by yourself."

"Are you playing some sort of game on that box, Leah?" Papyrus asked, nodding toward her laptop. "I've been observing you for a while and you've been focusing pretty intently on whatever you're doing."

"Hmm? Oh, it's nothing big," Leah replied as she looked up at him. "I'm just dueling some other users on Pottermore. Some Gryffindor scrubs think they can step to me, so I think it's about I took the wind out of their sails."

"Don't you be talkin' smack about Gryffindor," Johnny said from his seat next to Undyne.

"What's a 'Pottermore'?" Papyrus asked, tilting his head in confusion.

Leah blinked before sharing a glance with Johnny. She quickly looked around at the other monsters, only to see similar looks of confusion on their faces. "Umm...how familiar are you guys with the Harry Potter series?"

"Never heard of it!" Papyrus chirped.

"W-Well, I've been reading the books when I have the chance, b-but I'm only about halfway through the s-second one," Alphys said.

"i think the kid mentioned liking the movies once or twice but i've never actually seen 'em myself," Sans added, leaning against Leah to get a better look at her computer screen.

"Aww wait a sec, is that the one about the wizard boy with the scar of his face?" Undyne asked. "And he's fighting against that one dude who killed his parents?"

Leah laughed. "Yeah, that's the one. Well, Pottermore is an interactive website that the author of the books created. It lets you learn spells and make make potions and all that other fun wizarding malarkey."

"And what's a 'Gryffindor'?" Papyrus asked.

"The books take place, for the most part, at a school called Hogwarts that teaches wizards and witches about how to use their powers without killing everybody," Johnny explained. "When a student begins their first year, they have to be sorted into one of the school's four houses which is where they live for the remainder of their time there. It's pretty cool, actually. In the books, there's this magical talking hat that can look into the wearer's mind and see what type of person they are and it sorts them based on what it sees. Gryffindor is one of the houses you can be sorted into. Unfortunately, the site doesn't have a Sorting Hat so the users just have to take an amazingly detailed personality quiz to be sorted."

"How does the hat know where to put everyone?" Undyne asked.

"Each house looks for certain qualities in the students they allow in," Leah explained. "Hang on, I'll pull up wiki and see if I can find the specifics." She was silent a moment as she opened up another tab. "Okay, so the Gryffindor house values 'courage, bravery, nerve, and chivalry'. The three main characters of the series have all been sorted into Gryffindor."

Alphys looked over to Johnny from her place on Undyne's lap. "And I'm assuming that's y-your house as well. Th-That's why you didn't want Leah bad-mouthing it."

Johnny nodded. "Sure is." He looked over at Undyne. "And I also think you'd make a pretty epic Gryffindor too."

' _makes sense_ ,' Sans thought. ' _going by what tori said, one of his primary soul traits is bravery. makes me wonder what leah was sorted into._ '

"Aww hell yeah!" Undyne cheered as she and Johnny exchanged a brofist. "Leah, gimme that laptop when you're done explaining the houses and stuff! I'm gonna make an account and then totally pwn you in a duel thingy!"

Leah laughed at her friends outburst and Sans felt his soul thrum happily at the sound. He subtly shifted his body so that he was leaning most of his weight against her. He glanced up at Leah for any sign that she noticed what he was doing; if she felt him lean on her, she didn't show it. Her hair brushed gently against his cheekbones as she shifted around and he was able to catch a faint scent of green apple. He was about to let his eyesockets slide shut when his brother's voice broke through his thoughts.

"What house do you two think I'd be sorted into?" Papyrus asked, glancing eagerly between Leah and Johnny.

"You're totally a Hufflepuff," Johnny answered.

"I agree," Leah added, glancing back at the wiki page. "It says here that Hufflepuff looks for 'hard work, patience, justice, and loyalty'. I think that matches you pretty well. Aaaand, from what I understand, you have to solve a puzzle before you can even enter the Hufflepuff dormitory. This house has 'The Great Papyrus' written all over it."

"I couldn't agree with you more, my friends!" Papyrus declared. "I shall create an account as well once Sans and I get back to our new apartment!" He was silent a moment. "Speaking of, what house would you sort my lazybones brother into?"

"Ravenclaw," Johnny and Leah replied simultaneously.

"They look for 'intelligence, creativity, learning, and wit' so Sans would be right at home there," Leah elaborated, her hand reaching up as she began rubbing the top of Sans' skull. She smiled when she heard a soft, pleased rumble leave Sans' throat as he pressed his face into her neck. "It's also a no-brainer that Alphys would make an awesome Ravenclaw too."

"Y-You think so?" the lizard monster asked, blushing shyly.

"Duh, babe!" Undyne replied. "Everyone knows you're, like, the smartest monster in the world!"

"what about you, sweetheart?" Sans asked as Alphys cuddled closer to Undyne, his voice muffled slightly by the fabric of Leah's shirt. "what house did you end up in?"

"I bet she's a Hufflepuff as well!" Papyrus chirped.

"Actually, no," Johnny replied. "We both thought that's where she was going to be sorted too, but our dear sweet Leah is actually a member of Slytherin house."

" _S-Slytherin_?!" Alphys exclaimed, looking at Leah in disbelief. "You?! There has to be some sort of mistake. You're way too nice."

"Hang on a sec," Undyne interjected. "What's so bad about being in Slytherin?"

"I wouldn't call it 'bad' per se, but Slytherin values 'ambition, cunning, leadership, and resourcefulness'," Leah explained. She ceased her ministrations on Sans' skull, only to continue when the shorter skeleton let out a dissatisfied grunt. "These are normally valuable traits to have but if they aren't balanced, you get someone who is willing and able to do whatever they have to to get what they want, even if they have to do something...not so nice."

"Of all the houses, Slytherin has by far the worst reputation in the books," Johnny elaborated. "Most of the antagonistic characters are in Slytherin. Leah's right, though; just because some Slytherins can be out-and-out assholes, it doesn't mean all of them are. Actually, I think Slytherins can parallel Hufflepuffs in a number of ways."

"Oh yeah? How do you figure?" Leah asked, turning to look at her friend.

"Okay, let's say that a Slytherin and a Hufflepuff both have a friend that needs help on a test or something," Johnny explained. "The Hufflepuff would probably stay up all night to help their friend study; the Slytherin would just find and steal the answer sheet and give it to their friend. I imagine both would be equally likely to help someone they care, but the Slytherin is the only one willing to go below the belt to do it."

"that actually does sound like something you'd do," Sans commented as he looked up at Leah.

"I'm also pretty sure that Slytherins and Hufflepuffs show the same level of loyalty when the situation calls for it," Johnny added. "Slytherins are usually just more selective about who their loyalty lies with while a Hufflepuff will remain loyal to just about everyone they befriend." He leaned down to poke Leah's forehead. "And you've already proven that you'd go to hell and back for the people you love."

Leah smiled up at Johnny but didn't respond otherwise. ' _You have no idea_.'

' _ **No, but I do**_ ,' came an unfamiliar voice, causing Leah to start and glance hurriedly around the room.

"Did anyone else hear that?" Leah asked.

"hear what, sweetheart?" Sans asked before casting her a concerned look.

' _ **There's no point in asking. You're the only one that can hear me right now, Leah,**_ ' the voice said. ' _ **I do hope you'll forgive the intrusion.**_ '

' _Wait a sec. Are you inside my head?_ ' Leah asked once she was able to focus on where the voice was coming from.

' _ **Not quite,**_ ' the voice replied. ' _ **My apologies for the intrusion, but I'm residing in your soul for the time being. To be completely honest, I have been for some time now but this is the first time I've actually been able to speak to you.**_ '

' _Well, since you're able to talk to me now, would you mind telling me why you've decided to freeload in my...soul, I think you called it?_ '

' _ **All in due time, my dear. For now, all you need to know is that I am not out to harm you.**_ '

"okay seriously, sweetheart, are you sure you're alright?" Sans asked, pulling Leah from her thoughts. "you've been quiet for a while."

"Yeah, nerd. You're freaking me out a little bit," Undyne added.

Leah shook her head before sending them a reassuring smile. "Sorry. I'm fine. I was just...lost in thought, I guess." ' _Can you at least tell me who you are?_ '

' _ **A friend.**_ '

* * *

 **Ending Notes: Is that the vague makings of a plot I smell? You'd better believe it!**

 **Thank you guys so much for being patient with me while I struggled to get this out. I've actually had to rethink a lot of things about this story now that I've decided that I want it to have a plot instead of being a cutesy, slice-of-life thing. Some elements are going to have to change and some characters (some I've introduced and some I haven't) are going to have far fewer appearances (assuming I don't remove them from the story altogether from this point forward) than I had originally planned simply because I can't figure out a way to work them into the plot in a way that makes sense. Obviously, the core cast of monsters (and Frisk) are going to remain as are Leah, Johnny, and their families (Leah's family especially has a fairly significant amount of importance), but pretty much anyone and anything else is fair game.**

 **Thank you guys so much for reading! As always, feedback and constructive criticism are always welcome! Geekinthepink, out!**


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